


Rockman Academia

by Shurikens_Miner



Category: Rockman | Mega Man Classic, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2020-02-29 13:14:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18778996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shurikens_Miner/pseuds/Shurikens_Miner
Summary: Rock Light is gifted with a powerful Quirk in a battle between All Might and All For One. When he comes of age, he intends to become a Hero, to work alongside the likes of All Might to right wrongs and protect the population. But when the villainous group known only as Nebula attacks the USJ, will he keep his intentions?





	1. Prologue: Dividing Timelines

Hey everybody, it's Shurikens Miner. I'd like to begin this by saying that this story has nothing to do with Mega Man Chronicles. This is just an idea I had early in 2018. Enjoy reading

                                                                                                        ROCKMAN ACADEMIA

_December 16, 200X, 10:32 PM._

The night is dark. Buildings are in ruins. A crowd gathers as two titans battle it out. All Might - A pro hero rapidly growing in popularity, fighting against one of the most powerful villains of the era: All For One. Children in homes all across Japan stay glued to their television sets in awe, as their parents look on in horror. It will be the talk of schoolyards everywhere in the morning.

Even more so for young Rock Light, age 5. The young boy sits in the family car, paralyzed in fear. His family had spent hours looking for him, but it was a fruitless endeavor. The car had become part of the battlefield. All Might had attempted to save the kid, but he was unable to do both at the same time, leaving him to focus on All For One alone.

All For One slowly approaches the car, knowing All Might's intentions. He rips open the door, dragging the child out. The young child attempts to save himself using his Quirk, but it does little than surprise the villain.

All Might screams in fury. Young Rock feels strange. He's dropped to the ground. Everything goes black.

_Hosu General Hospital_

He awakens in a hospital bed, his family looking over him. His father, Dr Thomas Light, his mother, Dr Noele Lalinde, his brother and sister, Blues and Roll, and even the entire Hikari side of the family. Dr Lalinde holds a chocolate cake with two large wax 6 candles on it. "Happy birthday, Rock!" She exclaims, causing him to jump a bit. Lalinde sets the cake on a tray next to the bed, and the Hikaris step to one end of the room, revealing a wrapped box. "We wanted to give you a birthday party," Dr Lalinde explains. "But we were only able to bring so much. So the actual party itself will have to wait. But we were able to get the cake, and a present for you."

The young child looks thrilled. He starts to get up to get the present, but Dr Light stops him. "You just sit there, alright? I'll go ahead and bring it over."

Rock nods silently, and Dr Light brings back the present. Almost immediately, Rock tears into the wrapping. Dr Light starts to ask him to slow down (as to not damage himself further), but Dr Lalinde stops him before he can begin.

When the present is fully unwrapped, and taken out of its box, it's revealed to be a cerulean helmet, the perfect size for the young boy. He immediately puts it on. "Thanks, dad!" he says, causing the doctor to smile. "I'm glad you like it." He pauses, as if he was going to end there, before pulling out a card from his coat pocket. "Oh yes, I forgot! A card for you, as well." He hands the card to the young boy, who reads it aloud.

"Have a happy birthday! Why?"

He opens the card, and before he can read what it says, a voice box answers for him. "Because **I AM HERE! IN CARD FORM!** "

The young boy erupts in laughter, but then sees that the card had something extra on the bottom. A signature from All Might!

There's a message written on it, but the handwriting isn't legible, at least to a 6 year old.

Dr. Lalinde takes the card, putting it in his purse. Rock smiles, absolutely ecstatic. "When I'm big, I wanna be just like him! He's so cool!"

His mother can only laugh, and his older brother smirks. "If anyone can do it," he begins. "It's you."


	2. Chapter 1 - Rock Light: Origin

_Ten Years Later, Light/Hikari Residence._

Rock steps into the living room, bright eyed and hopeful for the day ahead. It was the last day of school, and the day he could finally submit his application to U.A. Blues has been attending for a couple years now, but who knows if they'll accept two people from the same household?

And speak of the devil, Blues comes in not a moment later. "Morning, little brother. Ready?"

"You bet! I just hope they take me. You're a lot better with your Quirk than I am."

"I don't think it's limited to one kid per house. Besides, I've been practicing for a few years now, you haven't been able to."

Rock rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah, you're not wrong. U.A must have some  _really_  good spots to train."

"Well it's not  _just_  a training room, you know. You're not out of the woods yet."

His bright smile drops. "You don't mean I'll have to take more math classes, do you?"

"You bet." He can't help but laugh. "For the kid of a scientist, you'd think you'd be better at it."

"I'm not  _bad_ ," Rock protests. "It's just really boring."

More laughter from Blues. "I'm with you there. Now shouldn't you get going? You're not exactly the closest to school."

Rock looks to the clock.  _Drat_ , he's right. "Well, see you when I get home, number one son!"

Blues simply waves. "I'll be here, Mega Man."

Rock had just gotten to the door when he hears that. "I thought we agreed that was a dumb name."

"We did."

Rock simply rolls his eyes, and heads out.

_8 Hours Later_

School had already ended for U.A, giving Blues plenty of time to work on his aim. Sure, you're not  _supposed_  to use your Quirks outside of school, but that's not really a rule he intends to follow. Besides, the summer camp starts in less than a week, he's got to stay in shape. He sets up a small set of targets in the lab, made of pure Ceratanium; the same material his father's Metall droids are made of. They should absorb the blast with nothing more than a black mark.

"Maybe I should bring Rock or Lan down here sometime," he says, more talking to hear himself talk than anything. "They'd definitely need the practice if they want to get in." He dons his scarf and helmet, and begins working on his aim.

Elsewhere in the house, a rattling sound is heard. Then a click, as the front door opens. No welcome, no noise, just a simple click.

**Pickelman - Villain**

**Quirk: Shield**

**Type: Emitter**

**By holding his arms up, he creates a protective shield that blocks all ranged attacks from**   **the front.**

Pickelman starts rustling through the house. The home of one of the premier robotics scientists of the era? That's too good to pass up! "This should fetch a good price," he mutters, pocketing a chunk of ceratanium.

Back in the lab, a message appears on the monitor: INTRUDER ALERT. Blues checks the cameras. "Someone's broken into the house?!" he exclaims in disbelief. They're supposed to have some of the best security money can buy, how'd a common burglar get in? He immediately rushes to the stairs, arriving in the garage. He opens the door leading inside, slowly and silently.

Perfect, he hasn't been noticed yet. The burglar has his back turned to the door, giving him ample time to prepare.

Instead, he whistles a melody.

The burglar turns to face the source, his mouth agape in shock. "I was told no one would be here!" He mutters to himself, holding a gun in Blues' direction. "Stay down, hands on your head.

No response.

"On the ground, NOW!"

Still nothing. Instead, Blues raises his arm, and begins glowing.

**Blues Light**

**Hero Name: Proto Man**

**Quirk: Proto Strike**

**Type: Emitter**

**A long but thin beam of solar energy is fired from his arm.**

He fires, but the burglar holds his arms together, blocking his face. A shimmer of light covers the front of his body, and the blast comes directly back to Blues, hitting him in the chest, and knocking him to the ground. The burglar chuckles to himself. "Just some kid playing hero." Still, that Quirk is quite powerful, he doesn't want to get hit by it. He pulls out his gun, pointing it directly at the boy's helmet.

Then another blast hits him in the back.

_1 minute earlier - Rock Light_

Rock and Roll were at the door of the house. It was wide open, giving them a clear view of the skirmish before them.

Then they saw Blues fall. Instinctively, Rock charges up, and releases a shot, right when he pulls the gun out. Roll immediately rushes to Blues' side, while Rock goes to face the attacker, who - after getting his bearings straight - bursts out the kitchen window, and makes a break for it, Rock close behind him.

Pickelman was still disoriented. How did he not notice that kid? How'd the kid know that the shield wasn't effective from the back?

More importantly,  _how was he gaining on him!?_

Sure enough, the kid was not only gaining, he was glowing blue. Pickelman turns around, grabbing a pickaxe and throwing it at the kid. He dodges to the side. He stands still, raising one arm, similarly to that "hero." Perfect. He puts his shield up, and waits for the shot.

Instead, the kid tackles him. He throws the kid off, and pulls out his gun, only to be met with an energy blast, and the kid's back on him. A strange sensation overcomes him. His joints feel stiff, as if he can't move.

Rock flips him around and ties his hands together, dragging him back to the house.

_13 minutes later._

The ambulance had already come for Blues, and right after it, the police. An officer had Rock sit in the main room, wrapped in a blanket, as they waited for his parents to get home.

"Officer, is everything alright?" An older man asks. Dr Light, followed closely by Dr LaLinde, rushes through the door, and the officer sits them down. "Dr Light, Dr LaLinde. I'm guessing you were told what happened."

"Yes," Noele replies. "A burglar broke in and shot Blues."

"N-" Rock begins, but the officer stops him. "The burglar was a man we've been after for a while, he has an incredibly strong Shielding Quirk, it likely reflected your child's own blast back at him. My best guess is that before his condition got too bad, he managed to take him down. He  _does_ have hero training, after all."

"You're certain that Blues was the one who apprehended him?" Noele asks, and the policeman nods, much to her confusion. "He's not usually so reckless…"

_Hosu General Hospital_

Blues was unconscious. The blast's power was amplified by the shield Quirk, according to the doctors, so it was unlikely he'd be awake for a while, if he could be woken up ever again. But even though that's the case, the Lights and the Hikaris still went to visit him.

Thomas and Noele were first. It was only natural, considering he's their son, though neither of them could find any words, Noele finding it difficult to keep her emotions in check, while Thomas simply hangs his head, holding his son's hand.

Next came the Hikaris. Lan was much more vocal than his parents, though he was still unsure as to why Blues wouldn't be coming back home for a while. He was only an infant when Rock was in the same situation.

Roll started to go, but couldn't work up the courage to actually step up to the bed, leaving Rock to go in alone. He takes a seat by his brother's side, holding his hand in the same manner as Thomas did.

_**You can save his life, you know.** _

Rock looks around the room, wondering where the strange voice came from. It sounded familiar, but he can't place it. "I want to, but I don't know how…" He whispers.

_**Transfer the Quirk you've stolen into him, and he will be forever indebted to you. Lay a hand on his arm, and bestow upon him the Quirk from that burglar.** _

Rock jerks backward. Bestow the burglar's Quirk!? He's got to be hearing things!  
But still, if anything can save him, it's worth a shot. He places a hand on Blues' arm, closes his eyes, and concentrates. All of a sudden, he feels power rushing through his arm, and Blues' eyes jolt open. A short gasp escapes him as his heart rate spikes. Rock tries to remove his arm, but he's lost control of it. Blues starts hyperventilating. Dr Light rushes up to the bed, trying to pull Rock away, but he won't budge. His arm begins to glow. A bright flash appears, and Rock lands on the ground, behind Dr Light. He shakes his head violently, trying to get his bearings straight. Blues seems to be breathing more normally, though he's conscious now. Rock approaches hesitantly. "Blues, are you alright?" he asks.

Blues turns his head to the side. "I feel… somewhat strange. Rock… What did you do?"

"I-I don't know! I heard something, someone saying I could maybe save you, and I listened. The doctors - they said you weren't likely to recover, I had to do something…"

_**You've done well, young Light. You will certainly master this Quirk -** _ _**All For One.** _

"all for…" His eyes go wide. A strange feeling, just like the attack when he was so young.

All For One… One of Japan's most feared villains. A man capable of permanently taking a person's Quirk and using it for himself. When Rock was a day younger than four, he was caught in the crossfire… but that doesn't explain how he now has the same capabilities as the most destructive villain of all time!

_**Next, It's your turn.** _

His turn…? No, it can't be. Rock's face contorts to one of terror and confusion. He can't truly be destined to be a villain...

Can he?


	3. Chapter 2: Entrance Exam

_ U.A - All Might - 6 Months After Pickelman’s arrest _

  
  


Toshinori files through the written exam from the prospective students. “Hey, Aizawa, what do you think of this one?” He drops one of the exams on the table, one of a kid named Izuku Midoriya. Aizawa picks up the test, scanning through the answers. “Hm… I don’t think anyone’s gotten this close to a perfect score this year… He certainly knows his stuff, but that isn’t everything. Let’s see how he fares in the practical exam.” He takes out another exam from the stack. “Rock Light.”

Toshinori squints his eyes ever so slightly. “Why does that name sound familiar…”

Aizawa explains, but the Number One Hero’s thoughts drown him out. That name has something to it, if he can just remember…

  
  


_ U.A - Rock Light _

  
  


Rock rushes up to the steps to U.A. dang it, he’s late! He starts dashing up the stairs, but in his haste, he ends up tripping on the topmost step. He braces for impact…

But it never arrives. Instead, some sort of cord is wrapped around him. “Hey there! Don’t want to bust your chin and get sent to the hospital on the first day, do you?” A voice calls out. Rock turns around, brushing himself off. “Thanks for that,” he says, raising his head to see the other boy. “Oh! I’m Rock Light. Who’re you?”

“Parker Astil. I gather you’re not from around here either, are you?”

Rock smiles a bit at that. “No, I’m from Arizona, over in the United States. Mom and dad got a job here when I was 4, so the entire family moved across the ocean. What about you?”

“Eh. Dad’s from Brazil. Dr. Pedro Astil, maybe you’ve heard of him?”

“Have I ever! Dad’s talking about him all the time! Are the stories true? Has he been able to create a robot with individual thought yet?”

“He’s not  _ that _ close yet, he could certainly use some help. Say, you said your last name was Light, right?”

“Yes, Dr Thomas Light is my father, and my mother’s Dr Noele Lalinde.”

“Wait,  _ THE  _ Thomas Light? The inventor of Ceratanium!? That’s awesome!”

“The same.” Rock nods. “Now c’mon, don’t want to be late.”

“Oh right! You’re going for the Hero Course too, aren’t you?”

“You bet I am!”

  
  


_ Outside the Testing Grounds - Parker Astil _

 

Dang, to think that Dr Light’s kid would be going into hero work! He could hardly pay attention to the explanation of the exam, his mind was racing. Maybe the two of them could open their own hero agency! Oh! Or maybe a trip to I Island! Or even complete his father’s work, create a robot with free will!

“Parker!” Rock shouts, breaking him out of his mind. “Come on, we have to go in.”

“Wait,” Parker replies, hesitantly. “What exactly are we doing here?”

Rock simply sighs, and with an eye roll, he explains the exam to him. “Destroy the robots to get points. There’s a gigantic one that’s worth 0 points, so stay away from that. Quirks are obviously allowed, but don’t attack the other testers. Got all that?”

“Got it. Let’s go! Oh wait, what’s your Quirk?”

“Oh, I fire energy blasts after gathering solar energy. What about yours?”

“Oh solar energy, perfect! I can manipulate plants to protect me. Kind of why I’m wearing so many flowers. That and my mom’s a flower shop owner, these are Gardenias.”

“I see. Well, I’ve got your back, let’s get going!” Rock rushes into the testing grounds, and Parker follows directly after.

  
  


_ Practical Exam - ??? _

  
  


This isn’t good… He hasn’t gotten a single point, and the test is nearly done! 

 

Izuku looks around. There’s nothing… Not a single robot. A couple kids are fighting something in the distance, but that kid’s plant manipulation Quirk seems to be making quick work of whatever it is. 

Oh! They’re coming this way! Maybe he should tag along!   
“Someone! Help!”

He turns around. A girl’s trapped under some rubble! Wait… That’s the girl that kept him from tripping earlier! 

“Hey! You two, come over here, I need some help! Someone’s trapped under here!” He calls to the duo racing by. One of them stops, grabbing the other’s collar, before the two start rushing over. “Where are they?” The shorter one asks, looking around before seeing them. “Oh! Give me a second, we’ll get this do--”

 

Rumbling. Thundering footsteps are heard. The 0 Point Robot rears its ugly head, causing the taller of the two to blanch in fear. “This isn’t good, Rock. Aren’t we not supposed to fight that one?”

“Are you kidding, she’ll be crushed! Parker, Green Hair, you two take on the robot, I’ll start clearing rubble.”

Parker nods, as does Izuku. “Alright, the robot seems too tall to fight from ground level--”

“So we need to get to the rooftops, I know. Hold on, I’ll get us up there!” Parker shoots a vine out from under his sleeve, hitting a streetlight. He starts running, and straps Izuku to his back as he lifts his legs, swinging onto a higher ledge. “Alright, I’m going to throw you over there, and you climb that ladder to get to the top. Sound good?”

Izuku nods, and soon he’s being launched over to the other ledge. Grabbing onto a windowsill, he pulls himself up and climbs up the side. The 0 Point Robot keeps moving along its path, uninterrupted by Izuku’s appearance. He’s getting closer to Rock and the girl. That’s not good! He sprints over to the edge, jumping off at the last possible second. “DETROIT… SMAAAAAAAASH!”

His fist collides with the robot, knocking its head clean off, leaving the rest of the body to fall backwards.

 

However, he didn’t exactly think of how to land… And there’s a searing pain in his arm. He looks to his side. His arm is black and blue. That  _ can’t _ be good. 

 

Wait, Rock’s stopped getting that girl out from under the rock. Oh thank goodness, he’s got his arms out, he’ll-- wait, he’d just get flattened!

 

There’s no time to worry about that, the ground’s getting too close!   
  


“Gravity Hold!” Rock shouts. Izuku floats in mid air, his eyes wide. This was the same thing that she did earlier… how is he doing that?

 

“Release!” Rock exhales heavily, dropping his arm before returning to the girl. “Sorry, there was no time.” He uses the quirk on the rocks on top of her, dragging her out before kneeling down and laying a hand on her shoulder. “Here you go.” He helps the girl up. “Can you walk?”

She shakes her head swiftly, getting her bearings straight before taking a step. “I-I think so. Thanks so m--” She then sees Izuku. “Wait, aren’t you the boy that tripped on the…” But Izuku was gone before she could talk. He has to at least get one point…

  
  


**_TIME!_ **

 

Oh no… he’s definitely failed…

  
  


_ Outside U.A - Rock _

  
  


“See you later, Parker!” He waves, heading back down the steps to head back home.

 

“Mhm.” An adult clears his throat behind him, and Rock turns around. “Oh, yes sir?”

Before him stands a black-coated man with a white scarf. “Come with me, someone needs to talk to you.” He sounds oddly determined, and not in a good way. However, Rock’s parents are expecting him. “Can I call home real quick, let my parents know I’ll be late?”

The man nods, and Rock begins to call Dr Light. “Hey, dad. One of the staff at U.A apparently needs to talk to me, so I’ll be a bit late coming home. See you in a bit, love you!”

He hangs up, and puts his phone in his pocket. “Alright, where are we going?” 

The man doesn’t say anything, simply pulling the kid along into the building. 

_ “At the very least,”  _ Rock thinks to himself,  _ “I get a bit of a tour of the campus while I’m here. Still, he doesn’t seem too pleased.” _

 

Eventually, the older man stops, and Rock follows his example. The man knocks on the door, and a young-sounding voice calls him in. He opens the door, and to Rock’s surprise, a mouse-looking creature is sitting in the principal’s chair, holding a paper. “Rock Light. Your father’s the one who made the robots for the practical exam, yes?”

“Yes sir,” Rock replies, nodding. “He’s one of the reasons I applied here.”

“I see.” The mouse nods. “There’s a-- ah, slight problem with that.”

“... I failed the practical exam, didn’t I?”

“Nono, you were actually one of the highest scorers, 5th place. It’s just… What is your Quirk?”

Rock tilts his head in confusion, but explains anyway. “It’s an emitter type Quirk that lets me fire energy from solar power, why?”

The friendly smile on the mouse’s face fades away, and is replaced by a look of grim determination. “Rock, I recommend that you don’t lie to me.”

Now the boy is even more confused. “I-I’m not, though, that was the Quirk I was born with!”

“He’s telling the truth, Nezu.” A voice is heard from the doorway. Rock turns around, but upon seeing the figure, he can hardly keep his eyes from bulging out. “A-All Might!?” All Might teaches here?! How did he not hear of that!?

“The Quirk you saw at the end of the exam was given to him. You can guess who did that.” The pro hero’s face seems rather upset, which only goes to sour the atmosphere. 

“I remember where I heard that name now. He was a hostage in the battle against All For One ten years ago. My only guess is that he was given the Quirk then, to keep the Quirk in the public. Now, Rock. Where is All For One now?”

Rock’s eyes go wide. “H-how would I know that? The last time I saw him, I was in the hospital the next day, I didn’t know I could do this until May of this year!”

He tells the three teachers of what happened to his brother, and of what happened with the burglar’s Quirk.

“After that day, I sort of practiced a bit, trying to take the properties of some things around the house. It didn’t work, of course, but it got me used to how I’m supposed to use the Quirk.

“Look, I don’t know what you guys think of me having the same power as him, but I swear on my life I have no intention of using it for personal gain. I’m set on becoming a hero.”

The teachers look to each other, then back to Rock. “Step outside, Rock.”

The boy nods, and heads back outside.

  
  


_ U.A - Izuku Midoriya _

 

Recovery Girl did a  _ really _ good job on his arm! Before, it was flat out broken, but now? It’s almost good as new! 

He walks through the halls of U.A, trying to find the exit. However, he ends up running into someone. Wait, isn’t that the kid that was with the Plant Manipulation guy? “Rock?”

The kid looks over. “Oh, hey. Your arm doing any better?”

Izuku nods, looking over to it. “Yeah, it’s fine now. Recovery Girl’s amazing! But, what are you doing out here?”

Rock shrugs a bit. “I may or may not be able to go here. They’re discussing it now.”

“Not enough points, I’m guessing?”

“Oh no, I placed 5th, it’s just… my Quirk isn’t something they want to promote.”

“Come to think of it, I never got to see you use your Quirk. What is it?”

“Ahem,” a man in a black jacket pokes his head out the door. “Rock, you can come back in now.”

“Yes, sir.” He nods. “We can talk afterward, okay?” 

Izuku simply nods, taking a seat outside the office.   
  


“We’ve come to a decision,” someone says from across the door. “You will be allowed to attend this school, though you will be under heavy watch while on the premises until midterm exams, to make sure what you say is true.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you.”

“Your schedule will be in the mail by tonight. That will be all.”

Rock comes out of the office a minute later, closing the door behind him. “Well, crisis averted, I’d say. Anyway, what were you asking?”

“Your Quirk, what’s so bad about it?”

“...” Rock looks downward as the two start walking out of the building. “It’s got a uh… dark past to it. A really bad criminal had it, and it just so happened that I’m related to him, so I got the Quirk as well. They don’t want to let it fall into a villain’s hand.”

“How can a Quirk be so bad, it’s your power, right?”

“Yeah, but… I’d rather not talk about it. Say. I never got your name.”  
“Oh! Izuku, Izuku Midoriya.”

“Nice to meet you, Izuku.” He looks to the driveway ahead. “This is my stop. See you at school!”

“Heh, yeah.” Izuku waves as Rock heads to his house, leaving Izuku to continue back to his apartment, mulling over his almost certain failure of the exam. 

 

He opens the door to his room, sits in front of his computer, and opens up the video. The first footage of All Might. Anytime he was feeling down, he’d put on this video to cheer himself up. 

“Is this guy even human!?” the person recording says.

“HA-HA HA HA HA!” A voice laughs in the distance. All Might steps over a burning car, with 5 people on him. “It’s alright now. Because  _ I AM HERE! _ ” 

The door bursts open, and Izuku’s mom falls through. “Izuku! This came in the mail, it’s from U.A!” 

Izuku rushes over, and after helping his mother up, he rips open the letter, and a disc pops out. In an instant, All Might’s face appears on the wall. “I AM HERE! As a projection!”

“All Might!? Isn’t this from U.A?”

“Actually, I came to this town to work at U.A. … Even if you passed the written exam, you got 0 points on the practical exam. Of course, that means you didn’t pass.”

“I know that… it’s just so frustrating.”

“If that was all there was to it!”

“Huh?”

“First, take a look at this video!”

The girl from earlier enters the principal’s office. “Excuse me, sir? The person with the curly hair and freckles… is it possible to give him some of my points? I heard him muttering about how he couldn’t get a single point, so I assumed that he was still at 0 points… at least the points he lost because of me... he saved me!”

“Your actions spurred others to act. The exam was based not only on Villain Points! How can a hero course reject those who stop to do the right thing? Call that lip service? Bring it on! This is a job that requires risking one’s life to put that lip service into practice! RESCUE POINTS! Izuku Midoriya: 60 points! And Ochako Uraraka, 45 points! You both pass!”

“This is too crazy…” Izuku mutters, tears welling up in his eyes.

“Come, young Midoriya… This is your hero academia!”


	4. Chapter 3: First Days

_ Light/Hikari Residence - Rock Light _

 

Here it is, the first day of school! He’s got his bag, he’s in his uniform, and most importantly, he’s got his gloves. After last week’s confrontation, he doesn’t want to get into more trouble by accidentally stealing a power. He pokes his head into Blues’ room. “You coming today, bro?”

But Blues isn’t there. He looks a bit confused, turning back aroun-- Oh there he is! Rock jumps in surprise, adding to his short scream. “Don’t scare me like that, Blues! We aren’t racing to get into the hospital a second time.”

Blues simply smirks. “Hey, you’ve gotta be on edge if you’re in a hero course.”

“I’ll take that into consideration. The shield working well?”

Blues puts his arms in front of his chest, and the front half of his body begins to shimmer. “Just as fine as ever,” he says. “Now let’s go, it’s a 20 minute walk to school and I don’t want to be late.” 

Rock nods, and the two leave the building. “Are you sure you’re okay to go? I don’t know how good your heart is right now.”

“Rock, if you keep worrying, it’s gonna make it worse. Just calm down, I’ll be fine.” 

“Oh, okay.” He nods, and the two continue on in silence.

  
  


_ U.A High School - Parker _

 

Great, he’s early! He checks the schedule he got in the mail. Class 1-A, seat 9. “Alright, just gotta find this 1-A room, and I’ll be good as gold! Here’s hoping the seat’s close to the window. 

“Class 1-A?” Someone asks. Parker turns to face the voice. The kid that was talking was a blond haired kid, kind of simple features. “I’m going just past there, I can help you find it.”

“Oh, thanks! Parker Astil, and you are?”

“Neito Monoma, it’s a pleasure.”

Parker nods. “Any idea who 1-A’s teacher is?”

“No idea. 1-B’s is Vlad King. Kinda scary, if you ask me.”

“In that case, I’m glad I’m not in 1-B. Blood Control? That’s terrifying.”

Monoma laughs at the comment. “Well, we aren’t getting any closer standing around like this, let’s get going.”  
“Yes, let’s,” he replies, and the two head up to the top floor of the school. “Here we are! Hope to see you around sometime!” Monoma smiles as they approach 1-A’s room. “Let’s not be rivals, shall we?”

“I like that plan. See you around!” Parker returns the smile as he goes to find his seat.

 

_ U.A High School - Ochako Uraraka _

Finally, the first day! She gets to the steps of U.A, and she can’t help but giggle at the memory of that curly haired kid nearly falling. Even with that, he was really nice! She hopes he passed. After hearing he didn’t have any points, she got really worried, even asking Present Mic to give him some of her points. After all, she  _ was _ the one who kept him from getting any. 

She hears someone running behind her, and turns around. “Oh, hey!” She waves as a tall, dark haired boy with glasses sprints up the steps. She remembers him from the test. “Oh, hi!” She waves, and the boy briefly stops. “No time to talk, it’s not good to be late on the first day of school.”

“W-wait, are we late?!”

“No, but we shouldn’t waste any time!”

Ochako nods, and starts running with the boy, though he’s much faster. Then she sees his legs, and realizes that speed is a result of his Quirk. Metal tubes jut out from the back of his calves, much like an engine. 

The two reach the entrance of the school, and the boy slows down. “Alright. Now to get to class.” He looks to his side, seeing Ochako running up behind him, though she’s not exactly doing that well at keeping up. “Alright!” She smiles, pumping her arm a bit. “Let’s go!”

 

The two finally find the door to the class, but to the boy’s surprise, someone’s already there, reading a book about plants. He looks to the door as he hears it open. “Oh, hey! Good to see someone else is early! I’m Parker Astil, and you are?”

The boy gives a slight nod of the head. “Tenya Iida.”  
Ochako mimics his actions. “Ochako Uraraka.”

“Oh I remember you!” Parker smiles. “Aren’t you the girl from the rubble? You okay after that?”

“Y-yeah,” She rubs the back of her neck in embarrassment. “That was me. I’m fine now!”

“Wait, what do you mean ‘Rubble?’ Did something happen?” Iida asks.

“Yeah, something happened! She got trapped under a pile of rocks, if it weren’t for Izuku, that green haired kid with the freckles? She could’ve died!” Parker seems more excited to tell the story than one should. “It was awesome, he had a plan figured out already and everything! It’s like he’s been doing this all his life!”

“Green hair and freckles?” Iida looks downward, placing a hand on his chin, before realization sets in. “Oh! I’ll have to apologize for my behavior towards him earlier.”

“Excuse me, I need to get to my seat.”

The group turns to the door, and Ochako and Iida step to the side as another kid enters the room. “Oh, hey Parker! We’re classmates, huh?”

“Hey, Rock! Good to see you got in!”

“Yeah, it was pretty close, honestly. I was sure they wouldn’t let me in, but here I am!”

Rock heads to his seat, taking out his notebook and pencil. “Alright, when does class start?”

“About an hour from now.” Parker sighs. “I was a bit  _ too  _ early, I guess.”

“Eh, don’t blame yourself. Blues went here last year, they must have changed their starting time.”

Ochako sighs a bit. “I knew I should’ve left home later…”

 

_ Outside U.A - Izuku _

 

Well, he’s here. Bakugo had gotten first place in the rankings. He  _ really  _ hopes that they’re not in the same class… Or with that guy with the glasses, he wasn’t exactly the nicest, either…

 

He approaches the door to Class 1-A, and can’t help but hearing two voices shouting at each other, one he recognizes as Bakugo. Oh no…

He opens the door, to find the kid with the glasses getting onto Bakugo. “Get your feet off the desk!”  
“Shove off, you side character. What junior high did _you_ come from? I’ll have fun crushing you!”

“Crushing me? How cruel! Do you really aspire to be a hero!?” 

The glasses kid then turns around. “Oh, it’s you!” His eyes go wide. “I am Tenya Iida, of--”

Izuku puts up his hands. “I-I know! Izuku Midoriya, nice to meet you, Iida!”

“Midoriya. You saw the entrance exam for what it really was, didn’t you? I hate to say it, but you’re a far better student than I am!”

_ I find that hard to believe, _ Izuku thinks to himself. 

“Wait, you’re the plain looking kid!” A girl’s voice says, and Izuku immediately turns his attention to her. “You passed, just like Present Mic said!”

“Y-yeah, I definitely did!” He laughs a bit, trying (and failing) to hide his nervousness. “I mean, it was because of you going to talk with them that I was even able to--”  
“Huh? How’d you know about that?”

“Well, it’s beca--”  
“Oh, I wonder what today’s going to be like? Is it just the entrance ceremony and orientation? I wonder what our teacher’s like!”

He looks around the class. He immediately notices Rock and Parker, and he sighs with relief. At least he won’t be alone.

“Go somewhere else if you want to play at being friends.” a very bored voice announces behind them. Izuku turns around to see a man with black hair wrapped in a sleeping bag. “This is the hero course.”

Iida, Izuku, and Ochaco all blanch in shock. “S-Something’s here!”

The man stands up, and sheds the bag. “... Alright, it took 8 seconds before you kids went quiet. Time is limited, you kids aren’t rational enough.”

“A teacher?” Izuku mutters to himself. “So that means this man is a pro hero… But I’ve never seen one that looked that worn out before…”

“I am your homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa. Nice to meet you.”

He reaches into his bag, and pulls out a jumpsuit. “It’s kind of sudden, but put these on, and head out onto the field.”

 

_ U.A Field - Rock _

 

“A Quirk Assessment Test!?” The class screams.

“But what about orientation and all that?” Ochaco asks.

“If you’re training to become a hero, you don’t have time for such leisurely events. UA’s selling point is how unrestricted its school traditions are. That’s also how the teachers run their classes. You all have been doing these since Junior High, right? Physical apprehension tests where you weren’t allowed to use your Quirk. The country still takes averages from these tests. It’s not rational. Well, the Ministry of Education is procrastinating.” He looks directly at Bakugo. “Bakugo, you finished at the top of the Practical Exam, correct? What was the highest score on your Softball throw?”

“67 Meters,” the boy responds.

“Then, try doing it with your Quirk.”

Bakugo nods silently, approaching the throwing circle.

“You can do whatever you’d like, so long as you don’t leave the circle. Now hurry up, give it all you’ve got.”

Bakugo nods, stretches, and begins his stance.

“DIIIIIE!” He shouts, adding a blast to the pitch, sending the ball flying.

“Know your own maximum first. That’s the most rational way to become a hero.” Aizawa nods. “... 705.2 meters.”

The class goes wild.

“750 meters!? That’s amazing!” One kid shouts, though Rock notes that he got his math wrong.

“We get to use our Quirks all we want!” Says another. “This sounds like fun!”

Aizawa smirks ever so slightly. “Sounds like fun, huh? You’ll have three years to become a hero… I wonder if you’ll have that attitude the entire time.”

He looks directly at Izuku and Rock. “The person who comes in last place in all eight tests will be judged untrainable, and punished with expulsion.”

Rock’s eyes go wide. All… All eight tests!? This isn’t good. Mega Buster only lets him fire a beam, how is that supposed to help him in ANY of the events!?

“We’re free to do whatever we want about the circumstances of our students.” Aizawa grins madly. “Welcome to the Hero Course!”

“E-expelled on the first day of school!?” Ochaco protests. “No, even if it wasn’t the first day, that’s way too unfair!”

“Villain attacks, natural disasters, big accidents… Calamities whose time and place can’t be predicted. Japan is covered with unfairness. Heroes are the ones who reverse those situations.” Aizawa sighs. “If you wanted to go talk with your friends at Mickey D’s after school, too bad. For the next three years, UA will do all it can to make you face one hardship after another. Go beyond. Plus Ultra. Overcome it with all you’ve got.”

The students collectively go quiet.

“Alright, demonstration’s over. The real thing starts now.”

 

First was the 50 meter dash. And who else was Rock paired against than Parker.

“No hard feelings when I make you eat my dust, alright?” Parker asks, causing Rock to snort. “We’ll see about that.”

“Ready… Go!”

The two make a mad dash for the other end. Rock seems clearly faster at first, but Parker’s easily able to catch up. They’re neck and neck as they both cross the finish line.

“6.04 Seconds!”

Parker looks rather surprised at that number. “Really? Thought it’d be slower.”

 

Up next was Grip Strength. Rock’s was nothing special, but with Parker’s vines, he was easily able to surpass 150 kilograms.

 

Then came the standing long jump. Finally, a place where Rock’s Quirk was able to shine. He pulls off his gloves, laying them on the ground next to the starting line. He raises an arm to the sky. A red energy envelopes him, then blue. He takes a leap, and turns around mid-air, firing backwards to push him across the camera’s eye. 

“Dang, nice job man!” Parker smirks, waiting for a high five. Rock almost goes for it, but then realizes at the last second what would happen, retracting his arm and reaching for his gloves. Parker stands stunned for a second, but Rock follows it up with finishing the move. “Sorry, my Quirk’s kind of dangerous after I just use it. Could end up burning your arm.”

Soon came the ball throw. After Ochaco’s performance, there was quite a lot to live up to. Parker was able to make it 300 meters with his vines, but Rock was never the strongest. In a fight, he’d be able to use his Buster as long as it’s daylight, and at night he can just use All For One to his advantage. But throwing a ball isn’t his strong suit. 

Still, he’s got to put everything he can into it. He winds up, and releases. At the tip of the ball’s arc, he fires three weak shots, causing the ball to bounce higher than it could before. The third shot sends it flying.

“.... 76 meters!”

Well, it’s better than he did without the Quirk.

 

The rest of the tests were nothing major. Toe touches, Sit ups, the sort. Soon, the entire class was gathered where they began. 

“Okay, I’ll quickly tell you the results. The total is simply the marks you got from each test. It’s a waste of time to explain verbally, so I’ll just show you all at once.”

Aizawa takes out his phone, and displays a hologram of the results. Rock sighs in relief. 17th place is nothing special, but it’s not la--

He sees the 20th spot. Izuku Midoriya… No, he can’t be last! He looked to be in peak physical condition for most of the tests, how could he be last?!

He looks to Izuku, who seems to be at the verge of tears. This is… this can’t be. 

“... By the way, I was lying about the expulsion.” The teacher smiles. “It was a rational deception to draw out the upper limits of your Quirks.”

Izuku sighs in relief, though one of the other students shakes her head. “Of course it was. It was kind of obvious, thinking it through.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Rock replies. “My brother’s a second year, this sounds like something he was talking about. An entire class got expelled by this guy once.”

Aizawa simply shrugs the comment off. “There are packets with the curriculum on your desks. Read them over when you have the chance. Midoriya, go have the nurse fix you up.” He hands the boy a hall pass. “That will be all.”

 

_ Outside UA -- Iida Tenya _

 

“Hey!”

Iida places his hand on the shoulder of the kid in front of him. “Is your finger healed up?”

Izuku turns around. “Oh, Iida! Yeah, thanks to Recovery Girl!”

Iida simply nods, and the two continue on. “I didn’t think our teacher would encourage us with a lie, honestly.”

“Hey, you two!”

The pair stop in their tracks, looking behind them. “You two are going to the station, right?”

Ah, it’s her! “Ah, you’re the infinity girl, right?”

“Ochaco Uraraka! And you’re Iida Tenya, and you’re… Deku Midoriya, right?”

“Deku!?” From the reaction he gave, it was clear that wasn’t the case.

“Huh? But during the test, Bakugo said… ‘Deku you bastard!’ Right?”

“O-oh, my real name is Izuku, but Deku’s a name Bakugo calls me to make fun of me…”

“An insult?” Iida mutters. Truly, this guy can’t be going to the Hero Course for any good reason… right?

“Oh, sorry!” Ochaco rubs the back of her head. “But Deku sounds like the Japanese word for You Can Do It! So I kind of like it.”

“Deku it is!”

“Midoriya!? You’re accepting it too easily, wasn’t it an insult!?”

 

_ Outside UA - Parker _

“Hey, Rock! You headin’ to the station?”

Parker calls the other from the top of the stairs, sliding down the railing.

“Oh, nah, we don’t live too far from school.”

“Wait, really? Cool!”

“Yeah, we’re like, 20 minutes away. You wanna come over?”

“Sounds good to me, lemme call mom real quick to check.”

He pulls out his phone, and calls his mother. “... Hey, mom?”

“Parker! How’d school go?”

“It went great, actually! Made some friends! Turns out Light’s kids are going here! One of ‘em’s right next to me, actually!”

“That’s great! Light’s an inspiration to all of us, hope his kids are like that!”

“He definitely is. Oh, he invited me over to hang out, that okay?”

“Hm… Sounds fine with me. Just be back before dark, alright?”

“You got it. See you by dinnertime!”

“See you then.”  _ Beep. _

“Alright, I’m good! Let’s go!”

 

_ Light Residence -- Roll _

 

Roll was working downstairs in the lab, when the door opens. She looks to the camera. “Oh, mom! Dad! Rock and Blues are home! … Wait, who’s that guy with them?”

Dr Light squints ever so slightly. “A friend, perhaps?”

He begins to suggest that they go back up to greet them, but Roll’s already at the elevator. As soon as it reaches the main floor, she bursts out as if she had a Speed type Quirk.

“Rock! How was it?”

“Oh, hey Roll!”

The strange boy snickers at this. “Rock and Roll? Really?”

“Yes, actually. I was quite fond of the genre in my younger days.” 

The boy looks past Roll, to see Dr Light himself here. “O-Oh, I meant no disrespect of course!”

The doctor simply chuckles. “It’s quite alright. I’ve heard that reaction before. Doctor Thomas Light.” He extends a hand, which the boy enthusiastically accepts.

“Parker Astil. It’s such an honor to meet you!”

“Astil, hm? You wouldn’t happen to be the son of--”

“Pedro Astil, yes.”

“Ah yes, Dr Astil! How is he?”

“He kind of… lost the use of his arm a couple months back. Something happened in his Amazon research trip, the helicopter crashed.”

“Oh, that’s horrible!” Dr Lalinde replies, joining in on the conversation. “Any other injuries?”

“No, just his arm.”

Dr Light sighs in relief. “That’s good, at least.”

“Yeah, but he’s still working in the robotics field. He swears that any day, he’ll make a breakthrough.”

“I suppose one of us has to,” Lalinde comments. “What with Thomas leaving for Japan so early in development.”

“He still has room if you guys ever decide to head over to help him. Even a video chat would help, if you’ve got the time.”

Dr Light simply shakes his head. “I’m afraid I don’t. If that changes, though, I’ll be right at his door.”

Parker simply nods. “Oh, Rock! Have you got your hero costume all planned out yet?”

“Oh you bet I do! You want to see it?”

“Yeah, I can show you mine, too!”

 

_??? - ??? _

“... gah… Bad memories make the worst dreams…”

A man pushes himself out of bed. The same dream, over and over. The day their projects were shown to the Board.

Light’s won out through deception and trickery. He swore that he’d show them his work was superior.

Only for Light to adopt his ideas as his own! The plagiarist!

He hears a faint ringing. Who could be calling at this hour!?

He picks up the phone. “Whoever this is, you better have a good reason for bothering me so early.”

_ “... Hello, Albert.” _

“Wh-Who is this? How did you get this number!”

_ “Just an interested party, offering a job. Care to listen?” _

The man looks out the window. He could swear he saw someone looking at him in an alleyway. “... What is it?”

_ “What if I were to tell you that your robotics could be all over the world within the month? Your research into independent thought could be national news.” _

“I’d say… you were pulling my leg.”

The voice on the other end laughs.  _ “It certainly seems far fetched. But believe me, it’s true. There’s a bar in Kamino, Yokohama. If you care to know more, meet me there.” _

“... I see. And I’m to assume that just anyone there is you, or do I get a name?”

_ “Ask for Regal.” _

“... Understood.”

_ “And please, come alone. Wouldn’t want to let that child of yours in on this.” _

The man goes wide eyed. How did this person know about Forte?

“Alright. I’ll be there.”

_ “Until then, Doctor Wily.” _

-Click-

The call gets cut off, and Wily lays the phone down. Whatever this Regal guy was planning, he gets the feeling that it can’t be good.

  
  


“Forte, I’m heading out. Keep an eye on the place while I’m gone.”

A raven haired teen looks up from the tv. “You know when you’ll be back?”

“Don’t know. Late. And make sure you’ve got that uniform washed before you go to bed. Bad enough you missed the first day of school.”

“Eh, I was last in the rankings, who cares?”

“I care, and Vlad cares.”

Forte simply rolls his eyes. “Fine, I’ll get it done after dinner.”

“That’s my boy. See you in the morning.”

  
  


It was a long ride to Kamino, and an even longer search for the bar in question. Eventually, he finds where he’s looking for. The place looked run down beyond belief, but he was sure this was where he needed to be.

Inside the building was a single man. His head was a dark mass of sorts, seemingly only kept together by the metal neckpiece he wore. His eyes were on him as soon as Wily entered the building. 

_ No turning back now, _ he thinks to himself. He takes a seat. “I’m looking for a Mr. Regal?”

“Doctor.”

Wily turns back to the corner. A fairly young man steps into the light. “Doctor Regal. Albert Wily?”

“You’d be correct.”

“Take a seat. Kurogiri, two mugs, on me.”

The shade nods, pouring two mugs of whiskey before passing them to the doctors.

“I’ve got a bit of a proposition for you.”


	5. Chapter 4: Odd Goings On

_ UA - Rock Light _

 

Most of school seemed normal. There was one incident in English class that he ended up being the center of attention.

 

_ “HEEEEEEY!” _

_ Most of the class winces in pain at Present Mic’s yelling, to the point where Kirishima yells out “Inside voices, man!” _

_ “Everyone, look at the board!” _

_ Four sentences were on the board.  _

 

  * **_**_The Man Whom I Respect Most Is My Father_**_**


  * **_That Is The House In Which He Lived_**


  * **_I Well Remember The Day On Which We Both Met_**


  * **_Please Tell Me That All You Know_**



 

 

_ “Now tell me, which one of these English sentences is wrong?” _

_ Rock and one other girl immediately raise their hand. _

_ “Rock!” _

_ Rock looks to the board, before answering in turn. “Number four, That and All are swapped.” _

_ The rest of the class looks at him, rather confused. Rock squints ever so slightly. _

_ “What?” _

_ Parker can’t help but laugh, and Present Mic joins in. “What he said was that the relative pronoun was out of place in number four.” _

_ Rock still looks confused, and Parker taps on his shoulder. “You answered in English, dude.” _

Needless to say, most of the class has asked him to help them out on English homework, and for the most part he accepted their requests.

 

Lunch, however, was a rather different situation. Blues already had his group of friends to sit with, and Rock didn’t feel comfortable butting in. However, a familiar group of people catches his eye. 

“Hey, do you guys mind if I sit here?”

Izuku looks up to him from his meal. “Oh, sure!”

Rock nods, taking his seat next to the green-haired kid. Iida almost immediately makes conversation. “I didn’t realize you knew English.”

“Oh yeah. I moved here at age four, but since mom and dad only know limited Japanese, we still use English around the house.”

Ochaco tilts her head ever so slightly. “Your parents don’t know Japanese?”

“Limited Japanese. We moved here because of a job the school offered dad, he didn’t have the time to learn enough to be fluent. The staff accommodated him best they could, but even now my parents can hardly order takeout. They’re still learning, though, and they’ve asked the three of us to correct them when they mess up. Don’t want to look like an idiot in front of a bunch of newscasters, right?”

 

_ Wily Residence - Forte _

 

Damn it! He’s late!

He hastily slips into his uniform, dashing out of the house as fast as he can. Bad enough he didn’t wake up early, he didn’t even see the old man in the living room! Just how late did he get back?

He takes the first train to UA he’s able to, slipping by without even paying the toll. He doesn’t realize this in the moment, though. He’s got one thing on his mind: UA. 

He checks his watch. Damn it, it’s noon already. They’re having lunch. 

Well, better late than never.

“Why were you late today, Mr Wily?”

Forte rolls his eyes. Sure, he was  _ expecting  _ to go through this, but it didn’t make it any less dull.

“I don’t have an alarm clock, and my sleeping schedule is all out of whack from the break.”

The receptionist nods. “And I see that you were supposed to be here yesterday, but you’re not marked as here.”

“Can we not talk about that?” He scoffs. “It’s today we’re worried about, ain’t it?”

“Alright, alright,” They reply. Best to keep a level head. “Vlad’s room is on the top floor, one hallway over from 1-A. Here’s your hall pass.”

Forte nods, taking the hall pass and heading to the nearest staircase. So they were done with lunch, huh?

“Hold on, there!”

Forte turns around. He knows that voWHAT!?

“Have you got a pass, young one?”

All Might is standing directly in front of him. All Might!

“O-oh, yeah, I’ve got one right here.” He lifts up his slip of paper. All Might takes the slip, inspects it, and promptly returns it. “Alright. Have a nice day, young Wily!”

And just like that, he’s gone. What’s with that guy… He’s an amazing hero, but he’s definitely an odd one.

He slips into the classroom. None of the students are here, oddly enough. Why wasn’t he just directed to the lunchroom beforehand?

The only other person in the room is their homeroom teacher, Vlad King. He’s a bit busy, it seems, so Forte just quietly takes a seat.

“You know, you could just go down to the cafeteria. Lunch hour just started, I’m not gonna stop you from eating.”

“... I’ll be right back, then.”

And so, he hops out of his chair, and heads down to the cafeteria.

 

He can’t exactly find a place to sit. One of the many downsides to coming to school late, of course. But damn, this school is packed. Not a single seat’s open at this point. So, he does what he has to, sitting underneath the stairs before he starts eating.

He’s gotta admit, the place has some good food. The white rice especially, quite nice comfort food.

Still, he’s kind of shaken about the old man not coming to wake him up. Yeah, he said he’d be late, but it’s noon. He should’ve been back by now.

 

_ Class 1-A - Rock Light _

Here it is… Hero Basics Training!

“I AM…” A voice sounds from the hallway. Izuku gasps in delight,  and the entire class looks to the door. 

“COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!”

“W-Wow, it’s All Might!”

“So he really IS a teacher!”

“That’s a costume from the Silver Age, isn’t it?”

“Its style is so different, it’s giving me goosebumps!”

All Might struts to the teacher’s podium. “I teach Hero Basics Training. It’s a subject where you train in the basics of becoming a hero. You will take the most units of this subject. Now let’s get right into it! Starting with…  _ Combat Training _ !”

Bakugo looks to get a devilish grin.

“And to go with that are… These!” All Might points to the wall, and four sections pop out. “Costumes made based on your Quirk registrations and personal requests you sent in before school started.”

The class collectively gasps. Rock starts beaming. Finally, a chance to show off his costume to the rest of the class!

“When you finish changing, come to Ground Beta!”

 

_ Ground Beta - Rock _

 

This is it. It had taken a while for him to get on his costume, but finally, it was time to show the world what a son of Light can do!

The entrance to Ground Beta was pitch black. No one could see anyone else’s costumes. 

Then, the doors open, and light floods into the hallway. The students file into Ground Beta, and take a moment to look at their peers’ costumes. Some of them look  _ really _ good, too! Izuku’s and Bakugo’s stand out more than anyone else’s, but the rest are incredibly detailed.

“Well, someone’s got an obsession with blue.”

Rock turns around to see Parker, fully outfitted in all sorts of plants.

“Hey, my brother took red already, I thought it’d fit the theme. What’s with yours, though? I can already tell not all those plants are real.”

“Same with you, fits the theme.”

“Ahem! Now, the combat training will begin!”

“Sir!” Iida raises a hand. If not for his voice, Rock wouldn’t have recognized him!

“This is an arena from the entrance exam, correct? Does that mean we’re doing urban battles again?”

“No, we’re moving ahead two steps!” All Might replies. “Most large scale battles happen outside, but when looking at the numbers, atrocious villains appear indoors at a higher rate. Imprisonment, house arrest, backroom deals, in this society, truly intelligent villains hide in the shadows. For this class, you will split between Heroes and Villains, and fight in 2 on 2 battles.”

“Without basic training?” One girl asks.

“This is a real battle to  _ understand _ those basics. However, the key this time is that there aren’t any robots to beat up.”

“So how will wins and losses be determined?” Another girl asks.  
“Can we beat them up anyway?” Bakugo mutters.

“W-will the punishment be expulsion like Mr Aizawa?”

“I’ll answer all your questions!” All Might silences the crowd, and pulls out a small booklet.

“Now, the situation is this: Villains have hidden a Nuclear bomb somewhere in the building. The heroes are to dispose of it. They either have to catch the villains or recover the bomb in the alloted time. The villains must either catch the heroes or run out the clock. Teams and opponents will be decided by…” All Might drops the booklet, and lifts up a box. “Drawing lots!”

  
  


_ Building D - Parker _

Sato was already in position to defend the bomb, while Parker sits near the sun to give his flowers some light.

“So, you get strong from eating, right?”

“Hm?” Sato looks over to his teammate. “Oh, yeah. Only sweets, though.”

“Got it. In that case, maybe you should face them head on while I control the area around the bomb?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. I get sleepy after my strength wears off, getting drowsy in the middle of the fight isn’t the best idea.”

“You’re right… Let’s just wait, then. Mina and Aoyama should get here s--”

He’s interrupted by a blast of light narrowly missing him. He immediately turns his attention to the door, to see the two “Heroes” entering the room. He gets a pair of vines ready.

“You missed like, everyone in the room, including the bomb.” Parker chuckles lightly. “Please, keep doing that. It makes our job easier.”

Sato takes a bite of cake, and puts his fist in his palm. Parker notes this as he swings a vine at Aoyama. 

_ His main center of power is his belly button, _ he thinks to himself, _ and he looks pretty frail. If that’s the case, keeping him close would be the best idea. Sato can take care of Mina. I’ll keep my eyes on Aoyama. _

Aoyama wasn’t too strong. Simply pinning his arms behind him was enough to get him to the ground. And with his hands tied with a vine, that leaves the only opponent as Mina. Sato attempts to grab her, but she dodges out of the way, dashing toward the bomb. Almost immediately, Parker diverts his attention away from Aoyama, diving at the girl.The vines go taut, and a snap echoes throughout the room. In his haste to go after Mina, he had let Aoyama escape!

Aoyama jumps on his back, and knocks him to the ground.  _ This is bad… C’mon, Parker, get up! _

Mina makes contact with the bomb, shouting that the weapon has been captured. Aoyama gets off Parker, who pushes himself up. “Dang it. Good fight, you two.”

 

_ After School, Wily Residence - Forte _

 

Damn it, why’d he have to miss the first day?

Almost everything they were talking about was building off yesterday’s lesson. What sort of high school has important lessons on the  _ first day _ !?

He closes the door behind him, dropping down on the couch. Almost immediately, he hears scratching on the hallway floor. Soon, a large black dog jumps on his lap. 

“Gospel, down!”

The dog, however, seems to have selective hearing, licking the boy’s face despite Forte’s best efforts to push him away. Eventually, the boy relents, giving the dog a head pat. “Guess someone’s been lonely. Dad didn’t come home, huh? What’s keepin’ him?”

He hears a knock at the door. Odd, he wasn’t expecting anyone. Maybe the old man was getting more robot parts here?

He goes to open the door, but as soon as he makes contact with the door handle, he’s blown back, his palm blackened. The door flies open, and a tall, burly monster of a man storms in. 

“Thought a scientist’s kid would be smarter than that. You’re comin’ with us, kid.”

The man grabs Forte’s wrist, dragging him out of the door. He only stops after hearing a bark. He turns around, to see Gospel staring him down.

“Heh. Some guard you’ve got there, huh?” 

The man pulls a gun out, before firing on the dog.

Gospel leaps to one side before jumping at the villain, sinking his teeth into his arm. He screams in pain, dropping Forte in an attempt to bat the dog away. 

He’s met with a barrage of pellets in his face.

 

_ FORTE WILY! _

_ QUIRK: BASS CANNON _

_ A rapid fire variant of the Light family’s Buster Quirk. _

 

Gospel jumps off the man, and both he and Forte make a run for it. 

They reach the main road, barely stopping in time before a car drives by. Oddly enough, the car stops in front of the boy. A window rolls down.

“Mr Wily, I hope you weren’t trying to throw yourself in front of me.”

Forte’s eyes go wide. “Mr Kan! What are you--”

Sekijiro stops him midway, though, bursting out of the car. The villain that had tried to take Forte had recovered from the pain of Gospel’s bite, and was about to tackle the kid. The teacher pushes Forte to the side, delivering a swift punch to the villain’s face.

Forte holds Gospel close as the fight unfolds, keeping himself behind the car. 

 

_ Wily Residence - Sekijiro Kan _

 

SEKIJIRO KAN   
PRO HERO NAME: VLAD KING!

QUIRK: BLOOD CONTROL!   
He can manipulate his own blood, allowing it to flow or harden as he wishes.

 

So this guy came at Forte for some reason, huh?

He’ll learn pretty soon just how good a UA teacher is.

He leaps onto the man, pinning him to the ground and letting the blood flow from his gauntlets. It hardens around the villain, forming a cocoon, keeping him from breaking out. After a flurry of punches, the villain is rendered unconscious. Vlad liquifies the cocoon, and absorbs it back into his gauntlets before cuffing the man, pulling him upright. The villain’s cell phone falls out of his pocket. Vlad picks it up, placing it in his pocket. He’ll give it to the police when he turns this guy in. For now, though, he turns his attention to Forte.

 

Vlad gives the kid a hand up, though it’s clear that he’s visibly shaken. “Are you alright?”

Forte opens a palm to reveal it scorched. 

“Don’t worry, we can get that fixed up. Recovery Girl should still be at the school. Come on, hop in.”

He wordlessly nods, hopping into the car, his dog following in after him. 

_ C’mon, Sekijiro, think of something to say…  _ He can see that Forte could use some cheering up, but at this point he can’t think of anything. 

Then he notices the rear window. Or rather, the  _ lack _ of a rear window, as the dog is blocking it by trying to sit on Forte’s lap. 

_ Perfect. _

“So, what breed is he?”

Forte bends to the side. “Huh?”

“Your dog, what breed is he?”

“Oh! Gospel’s a German Shepard. Not too big yet, he’s only a year old, he was a farewell gift from my aunt before we came over here.”

_ The dog’s name is Gospel? … That’s adorable. _

“So you’re an exchange student as well?”  _ We seem to be getting a lot of them lately. _

Forte nods. “Yeah, came here from Arizona. Dad had a job offer from the school, but I guess it never went anywhere. Kept blaming it on his rival or something stupid like that.”

“Hm.” Sekijiro nods. “There’s gonna be a lot of those when you get your Hero license. Hope you’re ready for them.”

“Yeah…” He trails off

“Something you’re wanting to say?”

“No, nothing. It’s just… That guy came directly at me, and my Quirk didn’t even faze him.”

“That’s to be expected. This is your first day of real Quirk training. It’ll get stronger with use, don’t think you’re too weak.”

“I… got it.” Forte nods. “Don’t worry, I’m not letting a repeat of that happen again.”

“That’s the spirit, Forte!”

The car parks on the U.A campus, and Vlad gets out of the car, Forte and Gospel following closely. 

“I’m going to take this guy to the police station. You report to the Nurse’s office, and wait for me there. Alright?”

“Got it.” The kid nods, before looking to his dog. “C’mon, Gospel.”

 

_ Kamino Bar - Regal _

 

“You say that he failed?”

“Yes. He was intercepted by a pro hero.”

“I see… Thank you, Kuiper.”

Regal had plenty on his mind. His new “hire” was working splendidly, but the fact that they couldn’t get his son as well may prove harmful in the future.

“Oh, Kuiper?”

The man he was just speaking to turns around. “Yes?”

“Keep an eye on the boy. Don’t make any moves yet, just keep an eye on him.”

Kuiper nods, before taking his leave.

_ A scientist and his son… No doubt he’s trained the boy in his own field. If we can get him on our side, perhaps…  _

He takes out a transceiver. “Albert, are you ready?”

_ “Almost, Regal. Putting the last few finishing touches on him before he’s shipped out.” _

“Good. I have his target set. Kurogiri will meet you in the lab tomorrow, and take him. Make sure Colonel’s ready, too.”

_ “Understood. Wily out.” _

_ Soon… We will make our debut.  _ **_Nebula_ ** _ will rise from the ashes of this society. _

_ All Might… Taking him down would be the ultimate triumph. _

_ We will not fail. _


	6. Unforseen Events

_ Sekijiro Kan’s House - Sekijiro _

 

Well, it was looking to be another normal day. Class 1-A wasn’t going to be at the school for most of the day, meaning the halls would be  _ slightly _ less crowded, but as far as his class was going to go, it wouldn’t change much.

7:30. It was almost time to go. He looks down the hallway. The bathroom door’s open.

“Forte, are you ready?” He calls.

“Just a second!” A garbled voice replies.

Ah, perfect. He’s actually getting ready. With how much the kid likes to act like a rebel, he’s surprised Forte’s not wasting any time.

 

_ A policeman enters Vlad’s office, Forte in tow. The kid, of course, has to wait outside while the adults talk things out, but that’s fine. Gospel’s by his side, he won’t be too lonely. _

_ “We haven’t found a trace of his father anywhere.” _

_ “I see… And the attacker?” _

_ “He’s a career kidnapper, our informants call him Monking, and none of them say it with any respect. Seems he’s got his fair share of enemies in the criminal world, too.” _

_ “And many of them are likely in prison. We may need to keep him isolated from the others.” _ _   
_ _ “I’ll keep that in mind. Now, onto another matter. The victim, Forte Wily. As it stands, we can’t let him stay at his house for his own safety. But that also means he wouldn’t be able to attend UA for the time being.” _

_ “Hm… I take it you’ve already decided where he’ll go for the time being?” _

_ “We have, we’re just trying to finalize everything.” _

_ Vlad nods. It made sense. _ _   
_ _ However, he doesn’t want to leave the boy without schooling. _

_ “... Is it possible for him to stay at my house?” _

_ “Wh-what was that?” _

_ “The boy has a promising future as a pro hero, I don’t want him to fall behind.” _

_ “I suppose that could be arranged. There’s hardly a safer place than with a pro hero, after all. I’ll make sure it’s sent to the higher-ups.” _

 

Forte exits the bathroom, styling his hair into two fins. “Alright, ready.”

“Do you really wear your hair like that every day?”

“You’re one to talk. You need the brush?”

Well. Point taken.

“Alright, let’s get to the car.”

 

_ Light-Hikari Residence - Roll Light _

 

Daaaaaarn it darnitdarnit!

She’s late!

The alarm clock flashes 7:05 AM. How could she have slept through the buzzer like that?

She bounces out of bed, grabbing the uniform laid out on the chair before heading off to the bathroom. Like her brothers, she also applied to U.A. Though since hero work isn’t her strong suit, she elected to join the support class. Maybe it was because of her parents working for the school, maybe it was just that she was good at building support tools, but she was accepted!

It takes her all of 5 minutes to get ready. No time to get breakfast, she’s going to be l--!

“Roll? What’s the rush?” Rock stops her as she rushes to the door.

“We’re late as it is, we can’t waste any time!”

“Roll, school doesn’t start for another hour.”

“An hour we can’t afford to spend!”

“... We live half an hour away from the school. Eat your toast, alright?”

She sighs ever so slightly. That was a good point, but still, she didn’t think wasting time was a good idea. Begrudgingly, she takes her seat at the table.

“Oh, I was meaning to ask you about something, Rock…”

“Hm? What is it?”

“... What you did to Blues in the hospital… What was that?”

Rock sighs a bit. She doesn’t blame him, this was still a sore subject. She doesn’t think he’s going to answer, honestly.

“... I gave Blues a Quirk.”

… what?

“You… what?”

“Do you remember the fight I was caught in the middle of? Just before our 4th birthday?”

Rock explains his newfound Quirk to Roll, who takes it somewhat calmly.

“I only did that to keep him alive. I didn’t want him to die on us.”

“So you can basically… choose what Quirk you want active?”

“Yeah, basically. And I can add or remove Quirks as I need.”

“Hm… That gives me ideas…”

“What was that?”

“Oh, you’ll see. I need to talk with mom and dad about this, first.”

“Alright…?”

Sometimes his sister was a bit too creative for her own good, maybe he should tell their parents about this first…

Nah, it should be fine. Not like she’ll blow up the house or anything.

That’s what the lab is for. 

 

_ The Bus - Rock _

 

Well! This was looking to be quite the trip!

Rock hadn’t heard where they were going, but it looked like everyone else was hyped!   
“Did they actually say where they were taking us…?”   
“No,” Parker replies, “but someone apparently heard ‘USJ’ somewhere in the office.”

“Wait, does that mean we’re going to--”   
“I highly doubt it, probably just has the same acronym.”

“Aww, darn it.”

  
  


_ USJ - Rock _

 

This place looks amazing!

USJ, while unfortunately not a famous park, WAS relevant to their studies. 

“Everyone, I have been waiting for you.”

Before the class stood an astronaut, short in stature, their head blacked out. Only two white eye silhouettes were visible. “Let’s go inside without delay.”

“We look forward to working with you!” The class shouts. If Rock didn’t know any better, he’d say that the impact of the voice alone could’ve pushed the pro hero through the doors.

 

The Unforeseen Simulation Joint, or USJ for short, was a training ground for disaster rescue. Inside, there was any type of natural (and unnatural) disaster imaginable, perfect for the class to get to work.

Aizawa approaches Thirteen, but unfortunately, Rock can’t hear what they’re talking about. Maybe the fact that All Might wasn’t there? Aizawa  _ did  _ say that there’d be three of them there, All Might being one of them.

Aizawa huffs ever so slightly. Seems he’s a bit annoyed. With that out of the way, though, Thirteen turns to face the class. “Alright, before we begin, let me go over one thing, or two… or three…”

Oh great, the number’s getting higher.

“Everyone, I’m sure you know of my Quirk, Black Hole. It can suck up anything, and turn it into dust.”

“You’ve been able to use that to save people from all kinds of disasters, right?” Izuku pipes up, while Ochaco bounces next to him. Someone’s got a fan, it seems.

“Yes, but it’s a power that can kill easily. Some of you also have Quirks like that, right? In a superhuman society, personal Quirks have been certified and stringently regulated, so that doesn’t seem to be a problem at first glance. However, please do not forget that there are many Quirks that can kill easily with one wrong step. With Aizawa’s physical fitness test, you found the possibility of your own hidden powers, and with All Might’s person-to-person combat training, I think you experienced the dangers of using that power against others. This class is a fresh start. You shall learn to use your Quirks to save people’s lives. You do not possess powers to harm others. I hope you leave here with the understanding that you have powers in order to  _ help _ others.”

And with that, Thirteen takes a bow. “That is all, thank you for listening.”

The class erupts in cheers of “That was amazing!” and “Bravo, Bravo!”

Aizawa silences the class. “Alright, then. First--”

But he never did finish that sentence.

The lights start flickering. Electricity pulses through each individual bulb.   
“Kaminari, what are you doing!?” Parker accuses, much to Kaminari’s shock. “It’s not me, dude!”

The lights go out.

The fountain turns off.

Space itself seems to distort around the steps, before black fog envelops the area. Aizawa turns around in horror. “What the…’

A sword blade shoots out from the mist. Aizawa gets his scarf at the ready. “Everyone! Gather together, and  _ don’t move! _ Thirteen, protect the students.”

“What’s that…?” Kirishima asks. “Is this like the entrance exam where the lesson’s already started?”

Izuku takes a step forward, but Aizawa holds a hand out. “Don’t move.”

The teacher puts on his goggles.

“Those are villains…”

  
  


_ USJ - Parker _

 

Villains? At The USJ!? This is insanity!

A man in black armor seems to lead the charge, with two people at his side. A wispy man, most likely the one who made the portal, and a large… machine looking thing. A crowd emerges from the smoke. A legion of common criminals.

This is what they were bringing? This is nothing. “I’ll contact U.A!” Thirteen says, almost out of the blue. “... … … It’s no good! The signal’s jammed!”

That can’t be good…

“Kids, take shelter! Get back to the bus!”

The class heeds their words, and makes a run for it.

All except Izuku and Rock. Izuku was transfixed on the pro hero’s fighting style, as usual. But Rock? That’s an entirely new question.

“Rock, what are you  _ doing!? _ Both of you, get back!”

“... That’s not a human!”

“What do you mean by that?”

“That big guy, next to the sword man! That’s a robot! One of my dad’s old plans! GutsMan!”

Parker’s eyes widen in shock. If that’s a Light Labs creation, then… oh no… 

Iida and Parker grab the two from their trance, and make a break for the door.

They never make it.

A black portal opens in the ground, and the wispy man appears before them. “I can’t let you do that…

“Nice to meet you. We are Nebula.”

“A name of your own making, I guess?” Parker retorts. This guy may be huge, but he’s making himself look bigger. No reason to be scared.

“It may be presumptuous of us, but we’ve invited ourselves into the home of the heroes, U.A High School, in order to make All Might, the Symbol of Peace, take his last breath. … I do believe All Might should have been here. Has there been some kind of change? … Well, that is neither here nor there. This is the part I am to play.”

All of a sudden, Kirishima and Bakugo jump at the man while he’s speaking, setting off a small explosion.

“Did you take into account that you could get beaten by us before you did that!?”

The smoke clears…

But not all of it. Not an especially dark strand of smoke.

“Oh dear, that’s quite dangerous… I forgot. Even if you  _ are _ students, you’re all excellent golden eggs.”

“You two, get out of the way!” Thirteen puts a hand out, but the students don’t listen, rendering Thirteen unable to do anything.

“My job is to separate you all, and torture you to death!”

Black tendrils emerge from the smoke, and a dome appears around the students. Iida, Ochaco, Sato, Sero, Shoji, Rock, and Parker make it out of the smoke, but the rest are separated. When the ball clears, only 8 heroes are left.

Thirteen looks at the situation, and sighs. “... Class rep, I entrust this duty to you.”

Iida perks up at the mention of his role. “What is it?”

“Run to the school, and inform them of what is happening here. The alarms aren’t sounding, and our phones don’t have signal. The alarm system is based on infrared rays. Even though Aizawa is erasing Quirks left and right, they’re still not working. That means they must have someone with an interference Quirk who hid when they arrived. You running to the school would be faster than us finding this person.”   
“But it’d be a disgrace to leave everyone behind and--”

“Get out of here, Emergency Exit!” Sato takes up a fighting stance. “There are alarms outside. That’s why the guys are only doing this inside, right?”

“As long as you go outside, they won’t follow you!” Sero follows up. “Blow away the fog with your legs!”

“Use your Quirk in order to save others.”

“I’ll support you, just like I did in the cafeteria, Class Rep!” Ochaco smiles. “Please, class rep!”

Iida’s gaze steels over. He gets into a running position.

“Even if you have no other choice… are there really idiots who talk about their plans in front of their enemies!?”

The shadowy man sends out a flurry of tendrils, only for Thirteen to suck them up.   
“We did that because you can’t stop us if you do!”

“... I see. Black Hole. A very powerful Quirk. But you use it primarily as a rescue tool. Meaning you have about half the experience of a normal hero!”

The shadowy man opens up a portal directly behind the pro hero. They’re pulled back. The sheer power of their Quirk being too much for even them to handle. Their suit is torn asunder, and the front half falls to the ground.

“Iida! Run!”

The boy steels himself, bolting toward the door. The wisp opens a portal in his path, only for Shoji to catch it in his arms. He curses to himself, before stretching his own body to catch the boy.

That’s when Ochaco sees her chance.

She grabs onto the metal cylinder his body was previously covering, and activates her Quirk. “I don’t know the theory behind it, but if he’s wearing something like this, that must mean there’s a physical body!” She lifts up the tube, pulling the shadowy body back, just in time for Iida to reach the door. He pries it open with all his strength, but the shadow attempts to catch up with him, only  for Sero to fling him backwards.

 

_ U.A - Aizawa _

 

The crowd was easy. The armored man with the sword?

Not so much.

The problem wasn’t the man himself. Rather, it was the mechanical marvel standing next to him. The machine was wearing an orange construction helmet, much like Light Labs’ Mettall robots. It hit like a truck, and it had no quirk to erase. “Could it just be… that strong?”

The robot takes a swing, only for Aizawa to wrap a scarf around the machine’s arm.

“Heh!” It grunts. “Nice trick, there!”

I-impossible! The robot  _ talks _ !? Not even like a basic A.I, it had emotion in its voice!

“Hate to say it, though, but there’s no fun and games on the site!”

The robot takes the scarf, throwing Aizawa to the side before rushing in with a flurry of punches. At this point, The armored man laughs. “I knew this machine would be too much for you. With this much power, you may as well be Quirkless. Gutsman. Take care of him. I’ll handle the remaining students.”

The robot nods, and the armored man looks to the wisp in the distance. “Kurogiri!”

A portal opens under the man’s feet, and he disappears.

 

_ USJ - Rock _

 

Another portal opens where the other students stand. In a flash, they’re replaced with a man clad in black armor. “... So you’re the only one left, then? I guess introductions are in order. I am Colonel. Leader of this sect of Nebula. Not that it really matters much if you know. You won’t live long enough for it to set in.”

 

This isn’t good… Thirteen…

The unconscious body of the pro hero lies on the ground. Everyone’s been split.

Everyone but himself. 

Kurogiri stands in front of him. Aizawa’s been overtaken by the robot.

He knows what he promised Principal Nezu and Aizawa, but at this point, there’s little choice. He removes his gloves, kneeling down. 

“Submitting?” The armored man scoffs. “If you’re the kind of person they’re training to become a hero, we’ll have taken over by dawn.”

Rock looks back down to Thirteen. “I’m sorry about this,” he whispers, laying a hand on their shoulder. He stands back up, raising an arm to the sky. He starts glowing red, then blue. “... I can’t let you go any farther.”

The villain smirks. “I like your determination, kid. Let’s see if that’s just talk!”

He rushes toward Rock, his saber extended. Rock lets loose a Buster shot, but Kurogiri warps it behind him, just as he did for Thirteen’s Quirk.

That was a mistake.

“Black…. HOLE!”

Rock raises an open hand. All of a sudden, a black hole opens above his head, dragging the shot in. He releases two more weak shots, both being dragged into the vortex. Colonel steps back, trying desperately to avoid being sucked in.

Then he falls backward. The vortex stops. Rock’s closed his fist, leaving just the vortex above him. 

“Ha… Hahaha!” Colonel starts laughing. “Showing all that power, only for it to stop when you need it most.”

He thrusts his saber at his foe. “Now  _ Die! _ ”

Rock drops his hand, and the vortex explodes. Colonel’s thrown back, the saber flying out of his hands. A determined look shines in Rock’s eye. 

“This kid’s got spunk,” Colonel mutters to himself, his smirk morphing into a wide grin. “Then let’s get on with the show, shall we!”

 

_ USJ - Izuku _

The boat’s been cleared of enemies, but… 

WHAT WAS THAT!?

While Bakugo and Kirishima were handling the Gutsman robot, Izuku, Tsuyu, and Parker were rushing to help Rock against the Nebula leader. But Izuku stopped in his tracks upon seeing that black hole. Thirteen was still incapacitated, it couldn’t have been them.

Then… that could only mean…

Rock stole their power!?

 

A crash is heard as the front door’s broken in. Smoke fills the entryway. 

Everyone freezes as a figure emerges from the smoke. All Might wears a deep set grimace as he enters the building.

“I had a bad feeling, so I tore myself away from my conversation with the principal and came. I passed young Iida on the way … good grief, it really makes me angry. But that is why I must proudly say… It’s fine now.  _ I AM HERE!” _

“Well, well. I was wondering if you’d show up.” 

Colonel smirks, grabbing his saber and slicing at Rock, pushing him onto the ground. Almost immediately, he falls into a portal that quickly shuts off, dropping him directly in front of the Gutsman robot. It winds up a punch, but Rock slides out of the way. He fires a solar pellet, but it does little. So he fires another one, only to reach the same result. He keeps firing and firing, hoping it does something. 

Then he’s hit.

He flies across the field, bouncing off the terrain before hitting a wall, falling face first on the ground. He tries to push himself up, but he’s obviously shaken. The Gutsman robot approaches, ready to deal the final blow.

But it never comes. 

All Might leaps into action, and the two become locked in single combat. Tsuyu and Izuku rush to the entrance with Aizawa’s unconscious body, but before they’re able to reach it, Colonel blocks their way. He grabs his saber, and starts to swing…

“GAH!”

He clutches his sword arm’s shoulder in pain, dropping the blade. A gunshot had been fired from the entrance. Izuku sighs in relief. The pro heroes had arrived! 

_??? - ??? _

 

__ A searing pain. That’s all Baryl can feel right now. He looks around, weak and weary. This is… even he doesn’t know. Why is he here? WHERE is he?

He looks to the ground. A sword’s covered in blood. He looks to his shoulder, realizing it’s his blood. He looks straight ahead. A kid with green hair looks to be both relieved and terrified. 

“Where… Where are we?” Baryl asks, causing the boy to jump back ever so slightly, rustling the body of some man on his shoulders. “Wh- what’s wrong with him? Is he hurt?” Forgetting his own injuries, he immediately rushes over to see if he can help. Before he’s able to do so, however, he’s trapped by the terrain. He turns himself around, causing his wound to open up more. “Wh-what’s going on here!”

He continues to struggle, until a strange mist forms around him, and he passes out.

 

\---

He awakens in a cell. Odd… What’s he doing here?

__ _ “It didn’t work, boss. The guy snapped out of it.” _

Voices down the hallway. Didn’t work? What didn’t work?

_ “Interesting… Any idea as to what caused it?” _

_ “Well, he certainly took a wallop at USJ. Think that may be it?” _

__ _ “So the Quirk can be deactivated through sheer force. I’ll have to remember that for later…” _

The two stop in front of Baryl’s cell. Who are these people? He’s never seen them before! 

“Now, about you…”

One of the men grabs a blade from their side, getting ready to slice at the man.

Then he’s hit.

He looks behind him in shock. Standing there was a boy in green armor.

“Who do you think you are!?” The man growls, rushing at the green one, who simply fires another shot, knocking the man back.

“There’s no reason to kill that man. We’re not here to cause needless violence, we have a goal in mind.”

“He’ll blab to the police!”

“He doesn’t know where we are at the moment. Get Kurogiri to warp him somewhere. Regal, do you have our next move in mind?”

Regal smirks slightly. “Trio? Allow me to introduce you to Quint. The newest member of Nebula.”

Quint bows ever so slightly, but says nothing.

“And he’s right. Get Kurogiri to warp him out. And Quint? Head down to the lab. Albert has something for you.”

“Understood.” Quint nods, before passing the two.

 

_ Nebula Lab - Albert Wily _

__ Albert wasn’t expecting them to have a lab down here. The building was ratty topside, but down here?

A scientist’s paradise.

“Albert?” Someone calls.

“Yes? What is it?”

He turns around in his chair, pulling himself away from his most recent project. Before him was a rather short man in green armor. Odd, he didn’t ask for an assistant. “Regal sent me down here to see you. Said you had something for me?”

Albert takes a look at the man. “What’s your name?”

“Quint.”

_ That _ clicks in his mind! “Ah, yes! Over here. I just finished it, actually.”

He gets out of the chair, pacing to the other side of the lab, revealing a pair of gloves.

“... Gloves?”

“I don’t know what your Quirk is, but Regal insisted that I make a pair of gloves for you. I’ve designed them so that they can retract when you need them to, so you can use your Quirk uninterrupted.”

Quint smiles a bit. “... Thanks, old man.”

Old man…

That… that sounds like something his son would say.

“... Quint? While you’re here, do you mind taking off your helmet? Just for a second, I may need to work with your head sometime.”

Quint nods, removing his helmet. Much to Wily’s horror, it wasn’t his son, but this was still a child.

No… not just any child.

Thomas’ child.

“Dear Lord…” He mutters. “What did they do to you?”

“Hm? What was that?”

“O-oh, nothing! Just the ramblings of an old man. You can put the helmet back on if you wish. I’ve had a good look.” 

The boy nods, putting his helmet back on and leaving the lab, his new gloves in tow.

“What did you do, Regal…?”

 

_ Outside U.A - Baryl _

 

Headaches are killer… What was all that? He could’ve sworn that he was going to die.

“Hey! Hold it right there!”

Baryl moves his head to the side. I-Is that Present Mic!?

He takes a quick look at his surroundings. Wait… This is U.A!

He quickly gets to his feet, but blood comes from his shoulder, putting him back to the ground. Present Mic puts a hand on him. “What are you doing here, man!? This is private property!”

Baryl tries to speak, but his shoulder is in so much pain that he finds it all but impossible. He’s only able to get out one word before he blacks out.

“N-nebu...la…”

 

He awakens in a hospital. He moves his arm to hold his head, but he finds it immovable. He looks to the side.

Handcuffs. He was arrested… 

Just great.

The door opens, and a woman enters the room. “Now, care to explain what you were doing on private property so late at night?”

“I-I don’t know… I hardly remember anything about today.”

“Well, what  _ do  _ you remember?”

“... I remember getting trapped in stone… some kids were holding an injured man. I tried to look over him, but my shoulder was bleeding out. I don’t remember much after that.”

“... What’s your name?”

“H-huh? Oh, Baryl. Baryl Mach. I’m a pediatrician.”

“Baryl Mach… That will be all. Thank you.”

The woman leaves the room, and Baryl is alone.


	7. Aftermath

_ Kamino-Yokohama Police Station - ??? _

 

__ “Hm… Chaud, what do you make of this?”

A pair of men look over footage taken from the USJ attack. The white-haired one puts a hand to his chin.

“I can’t say for sure. Whatever it is, it doesn’t say anything good for Japan as a whole. The villains are getting bolder, we’ve got to put a stop to that.” 

“We’re police. Do you really think we can handle a legion of villains like this?”

“ Whether we can or not, we can’t just be the Villain Reception Facility like we’ve been since All Might came around. We’re the laughingstock of the country. If we had the men, we could take this group down without needing the help of the Pro Heroes.”

“... What are you proposing?”

Chaud smirks. “A team of heroes devoted to nipping Nebula in the bud.”

“And how would we do that? We’re not equipped to fight this many villains, and even the lesser known pro heroes attract too much attention.”

“... Do the Police usually get internship requests?”

“I’m not following.”

Chaud holds up a folder. “I got this on my desk just this morning. A kid from UA wants to be my intern.”

“A general studies kid, no doubt.”

“That’s what I thought, Naomasa, but he’s from the Hero Course. A second year, even.”

Naomasa’s eyes go wide. “Let me see the folder.”

Chaud nods, passing it over to his partner. True enough, the intern in question is from the Hero Course. “... Blues Light. Quirk, Proto Strike. … Seems promising, but what does he have to do with this?”

“This kid isn’t too far from getting his provisional license. While interning with me, he’d be allowed to use his Quirk, and that’s just what we need.”

“You want to put a child on the front lines?”

“He’s almost graduated, Naomasa. He’s far enough along in the course to know how to handle himself. Nebula’s going to be a bigger threat than the rest of the force anticipates, and they’re already on high alert. We both know All Might can’t handle these guys forever, we need to make sure we have an answer for when he’s put out of commission. We’ve let ourselves rely on him for too long. It’s time to let others see the light of day. This kid is the first, but we’ll have more people. Stronger people. All I need is your help.”

Naomasa hesitates. “Are you sure that’s wise? This isn’t something we can take lightly.”

“I’m certain.”

“... Alright, then. But I’m still letting All Might know of this.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

His team would have its day, he was sure of it.

  
  


_ Kamino Ward - Baryl _

__ How long has he been here? It feels like it’s been a week.

He looks at the calendar.

TWO DAYS!? But how!? It had to have been longer than two days! 

The door flings open. Again. For the 17th time in the past 12 hours. “Can’t a man get some sleep? You’ve been keeping me up all day.`

However, instead of Cementoss or Midnight like the last few times, it was just a nurse.

“Oh, nevermind. Thought you were someone else.”

“Heh. You  _ have _ been getting a lot of visitors lately.” The nurse puts his food on the table, before taking a look at the rather shiny object on the man’s wrist. “... So what’d you do?”

“Hm?”

“I doubt you’re wearing cuffs for the look. So what’d you do?”

“... I honestly don’t remember. I passed out on U.A’s campus, but they seem a lot more enraged with me than just some guy who got past the gate. One of the staff there will probably show up in the next 5 minutes, so you’re welcome to wait and ask them.”

As if on cue, Cementoss enters the room. “Good morning, Mr Mach.”

“Oh great, we were just talking about you.” Baryl sighs. “What is it this time? More questions that I don’t know the answers to? Am I finally gonna know what’s going on?”

“I do have a few more questions for you, yes,” the hero replies as the nurse hides herself in the corner so she can listen in.

“Do you have a history of memory loss?”

Baryl shakes his head. “No, my memory’s usually flawless.”

“Any history of drinking?”

Once again, Baryl shakes his head. “I’m a nurse, I need steady hands.”

“Alright… One more question. … Does the name ‘Nebula’ mean anything to you?”

Baryl glares at Cementoss. What’s that supposed to mean?

Unbeknownst to him, his eyes flash a deep purple. “It’s a space thing, right?”

“...” Cementoss sits in silence for a bit.

“Well?”

“... What’s your Quirk, Mr Mach?”

“Wh-what? I’m Quirkless, have been all my life. Why does that matter?”

Cementoss nods, standing up to leave. But as soon as he heads to the door, he turns back around and uses the cement floor to lunge at Baryl. He flinches backward and summons a short blade from his wrists to block the strike, snapping the handcuffs as well.

Cementoss smirks, putting the floor back to its original shape. “What was that about you being Quirkless?”

Baryl, meanwhile, stares in shock and awe at his arm. “... How did I… How…? You can check my records, I was Quirkless! How did I…?”

“Well congratulations, you’ve gained a Quirk, it seems.”

Cementoss mutters something on his way out. But Baryl doesn’t care about that. He’s too busy trying to retract the blade. It takes him a while, but he manages to get it.

The nurse, meanwhile, can’t help but laugh. “You’re like a child finding a new toy.”

“Well, this is new for me! For the longest time I had to lie to my friends about having a Quirk, but now?” He extends and retracts the blade several times, before grasping his arm in pain. “AGH!” 

The nurse immediately runs to his side. “What is it? Can you describe the pain to me?’

“Ahh… sorry… I think it’s just a pulled muscle. Should be fine in a bit.”

“Oh… I think you were going too fast with that Quirk of yours. You really must have been Quirkless if you didn’t know something like that.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“Using a Quirk is a lot like working a muscle. Yours apparently more than most. If you practice at it, you’ll get stronger with it. But if you overwork it, you can end up hurting yourself.”

Baryl simply nods silently. Of course, why didn’t he think of that?

The door opens again, and Cementoss returns, along with Midnight and Present Mic.

“Mr Mach, I’m sure you know these two.”

Baryl rolls his eyes, holding his arm to massage the pain away. “Well Mic’s a new arrival, but I think the two of you are tied for most sleep taken away in the past 12 hours. What’s up this time?”

Midnight answers for the three as Cementoss takes a seat. 

“Mr Mach, do you know where you were from the hours of 10--”

“I’ve told you already, I don’t remember anything since last Friday. That entire 5 day gap is gone from my memory.” As he’s talking, his Quirk activates again, causing another yelp in pain.

“Woah!” Mic yelps, taking a step back. “... I think you were right, Cementoss. I checked his records while you were talking with him, he’s never had a registered Quirk. This is new for him.”

“Hmm…” Cementoss puts a hand to his chin in thought. “Mr Mach? Do you think you can put your blade away?”

“Not without hurting my arm again. That was unintentional.”

Midnight nods, releasing the smallest bit of gas to relax his muscles, letting the sword retract without pain.

“Mr Mach, you were at the Unforeseen Simulation Joint two days ago, leading a band of villains calling themselves Nebula.”

Baryl can hardly believe what he’s hearing. “I was doing  _ what _ !?”

The nurse can’t help but exclaim the same question.

“You were shot in the shoulder by Snipe, after you tried to kill a class of our students. Cementoss had trapped you, but you were warped out of the building.”

“So that’s why my shoulder’s hurting…”

“You don’t remember any of that? Not even after we told you about it?”

“I think I’d remember trying to kill high schoolers.”

“Well, whether or not you remember it, that’s what happened.” Mic comments.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me… Do you have anything that shows me specifically? I won’t be able to believe this until I see it.”

“You could ask the entire class of 1-A. Few of them got a bit too close to that sword of yours.

Baryl simply remains silent. If what they’re saying is true (and to be honest, he doesn’t doubt them. They’re heroes, they’re not dishonest), he’ll need to apologize to them.

“Excuse me, I’d like to talk to the suspect, if you wouldn’t mind.”

Cementoss looks to the doorway, and a young man with white hair stands in the entrance. “Detective Chaud, I was at the meeting last night.”

“Ah, come in, detective.” Cementoss nods, and Chaud enters the room, taking a look at Baryl, lying in bed. In his hand, a folder, which he quickly opens. “Baryl Mach, nurse at this very hospital. Quirkless. I’m going to guess that’s not entirely true, is it?”

Baryl sees no reason to lie, so he shakes his head. “Has been until now.”

“Hm. That’s odd, people don’t just  _ get  _ Quirks… so the sound of sheathing metal I heard was you?”

“That’s right.” Baryl nods, tensing his arm, and the blade comes out. Tensing it again, it retracts.

“Impressive, I’ll say.”

He then takes a disc out of the folder. “This is footage from the attack on USJ two days ago. To clarify, you don’t remember anything about this attack, right?”

“Exactly, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell these two for I don’t know  _ how  _ long.”

Chaud nods, placing it back in the folder, before taking out a different disc, placing it on the table beside Chaud. It activates, and begins playing footage.

 

_ “Submitting? If you’re the kind of person they’re training to become a hero, we’ll have taken over by dawn.” _

The armored man takes a swing at the boy, as Baryl looks on in horror. “This… This was me?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“But that’s…”

“Impossible?”

“I wish I could say that…”

The footage ends, and Chaud takes the disc back. “Well, that proves my theory.”

“And that is?” Mic looks over to the detective.

“That whoever’s really running the show here has a mind altering Quirk. Baryl here committed the crime, yes, but it wasn’t of his own volition.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Midnight replies.”

“I’d say let him lose the cuffs, but it looks like he’s already lost ‘em.” Chaud smirks, gesturing to the shattered metal on the ground.

Cementoss stands up from his chair, and the three take their leave, all the while, Baryl stares in a slight stupor.

“That’s it? No ‘sorry for arresting you for something that you basically didn’t do?’”

“Well, they’re pretty busy.” Chaud smirks, taking the seat Cementoss previously occupied.

“Well, if that’s everything, I think I’ll take my leave.” The nurse bows ever so slightly to the two men in the room, and Chaud waves. “I’ll see you around, then.”

“If you need anything, Mr. Mach, just call for Marylin, alright?”

“Got it.” Baryl nods, and the nurse takes her leave.

“Now, I’ve got a question for you, Baryl.”

“What is it now?” He has to keep himself from rolling his eyes. After he gets out of here, he’s  _ definitely  _ going to be avoiding social contact. He’s had enough questions for one week.”

“You don’t remember the attack, but these kids are still going to be in shock. What’s more, you’re responsible for two U.A Staff getting put in the hospital. How’d you like to make that up?”

“... What do you mean?”

“Would you care to take the fight to Nebula? A bit of vengeance?”

Baryl can only stare in shock. “Are you serious?”   
“Deadly serious.” He holds up a smaller folder. “I’ve got some people lined up for this. Care to be part of the team?”

“...” He sits in silence for a bit. Sure, vengeance would be nice, but he’s only just learned he  _ had  _ a Quirk, much less learned how to use it.

Still, Nebula needs to be stopped, and he knows all too well what they were doing to people.

He looks Chaud dead in the eye. “I’m in.”

Chaud’s smirk turns into a full smile. “Then let’s get going. I talked to the doctors, you’re set to be released today either way. We’re running this team together. Be on the lookout for potential team members, alright?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got an idea already.”

“Oh, and one more thing. When we’re fighting Nebula, you answer to Colonel, alright?”

“... Got it.”

 

_ U.A - Parker - Two Days After The Attack _

Press was flooding the front gates of the school, stopping random students in an attempt to get the big scoop. 

Funny, they were here not one week ago raving about All Might teaching here, and now they’re back. Granted, the attack is definitely newsworthy, but it’s just so soon after the last storming of the wall.

“Excuse me, kid?” One of the reporters try to get his attention. Eh, he might as well.

“Beleza?” He responds. Naturally, the reporter doesn’t have enough time to translate before Parker slips by.

Oh, the perks of being multilingual.

 

_ Class 1-A - Izuku Midoriya _

 

__ Normally, the class would be rowdy and rambunctious just after lunch.

Not today. Not after what happened.

Aizawa, Thirteen, even one of their own students, all either missing or in the hospital.

Even Bakugo seems on edge. He nudges Kaminari with his elbow. “Hey, Pikachu. Tell a joke or somethin’.”

“Will you not call me that?”

Surprisingly, the Pikachu comment got a few laughs out of the class, Kirishima probably the loudest of them.

“Yeah, he’s not a Pikachu!” Kirishima jokes, before getting a red marker, and drawing red circles on Kaminari’s cheeks. “ _ NOW  _ he’s a Pikachu!”

This gets more laughs, to the point where even Kaminari himself joined in, wiping his cheeks with his sleeve, only for the marker to not come off. “... Kirishima, what marker did you use?”

“Huh? Just the one I brought for--” He looks at his hand.

_ Kyber Brand Permanent Markers _

“... Oh.”

“Gimme that!” Kaminari grabs the marker, and tries to draw on Kirishima’s face, only to get pushed back. Iida tries to get them to stop, but it doesn’t work all too well.

In the middle of this small scuffle, the door opens, and Aizawa enters the room, covered in bandages.

Iida immediately raises his hand. “So you’re alright, Mr. Aizawa?”

“My well-being doesn’t matter--”

“It kinda does!” Parker interjects.

“... As I was saying, my well-being doesn’t matter. More importantly, the fight isn’t over.”

“Fight?”

“Don’t tell me…”

“... The U.A Sports Festival is drawing near.”

The class erupts in cheers, though he can’t seem to get that empty seat out of his mind. Are they really doing the sports festival after one of their students was lost in an attack? Doesn’t that seem a bit careless? After all, there’s no doubt that people would accuse them of trying to draw attention away from the event, so it may not be a good ide--

“Midoriya.”

Izuku looks up to the front of the class.

“You’re muttering again. It’s getting distracting.”

“O-oh, sorry, Mr. Aizawa.”

“But he has a point.” Jirou raises her hand. “Is it really okay to be holding the event so soon after the attack?”

“Apparently, they see holding the event as showing that our crisis management system is solid as a rock. Security will also be strengthened 5 times the amount of previous years. Aside from that, our Sports Festival is a huge chance. It’s not an event to be cancelled by a few villains.”

“It’s just a sports festival, isn’t it?” Parker asks. “What makes this one such a big deal?”

“Parker, you’ve never seen U.A’s Sports Festival?” Izuku turns around in his seat.

“No, I haven’t. I just got here last year.”

“Our Sports Festival is one of Japan’s biggest events. In the past, the Olympics were called a festival of sports, and the whole country was crazy about them. As you know, with reductions in scale and population, they’re now a shell of their former glory. And now, for Japan, what’s taken place of the Olympics is the U.A Sports Festival!”

“Of course, all the top Pro Heroes will be watching!” Yaoyorozu comments. “For scouting purposes.”

“So it’s less of just a normal event for us, and more of an audition?”

“I guess you could call it that. Do they not have something like this where you’re from?”

“No, Brazil’s still huge on the Olympics. My cousin was actually in the last Winter Olympics.”

“Then you especially should take note of what happens here.” Aizawa comments. “If you expect to go pro, the path to that future begins here. Once a year, just a total of three chances. No aspiring hero can afford to miss this event!”

 

_ U.A Principal’s Office - Blues Light _

 

Just what was he doing here?

Out of nowhere, both he and his sister were called to Principal Nezu’s office. Himself he could normally understand (after all, he wasn’t always the best student), but his sister  _ never  _ acts out. So this couldn’t be a behavioral problem. So what was it?

The door opens behind them, and his parents file into the building. “Principal Nezu, it’s good to see you,” Light says, taking a seat beside his son. LaLinde doesn’t say anything. If Blues were to be honest, he’d say that his step-mother looked like a wreck. As did his sister. It made sense, after the conversation the police had with the family last night. Part of him hoped that he’d wake up mid-sentence, but no. His brother was gone. There wasn’t a body found, so there’s no way to know if he’s even alive.

No, he has to keep positive. He’s alive, he’s not the type to just die on them. Not like that, anyway.

 

“... Dr Light. Dr. LaLinde? I assume you two know of what happened at the Unforeseen Simulation Joint?”

“Yes, Detective Chaud told us last night.”

“Ah. Good. Though, there is one thing that he didn’t mention, I believe. The robot used in the attack. One of our students said that your son was familiar with the robot.”

“Wh-what?”

“Yes… GutsMan, he said it was called?”

Light’s eyes go wide. “GutsMan? But… those plans were stolen from me years ago. They never even found the culprit.”

“Then there’s no other reason than that the thief is working with Nebula. Dr Light, were there any other plans that this thief stole?”

Light shakes his head. “That was the only robot I had planned on making. GutsMan was a personal project, a proof of concept for the trip to I-Island that year. I didn’t have plans to make any more than just the one.”

Nezu nods, sighing quietly. “That is a relief, at least.”

“Now, Principal Nezu. Please, tell us. Was a body found at the USJ?”

The principal shakes his head. “The wreckage was cleared, but no body was found. It would make little sense for them to take a corpse with them, so the only possibility is that your son was abducted by Nebula. I’m sorry…”

Light’s head drops, but Blues was ecstatic to hear this. Rock was alive, at least. There was a chance to get his brother back.

LaLinde, however, didn’t take it as well. “How many people did you have on staff there?”

“Two. Eraserhead and Thirteen.”

“You only put two people on staff to protect 20 children?”

“Mom, it’s not that simple.” Blues interjects. “The USJ trip is something that happens every year. My class went, and we only had Vlad King and Thirteen. They didn’t expect villains to show up.”

“Even still, the presence of a third staff member could have kept them all safe.”

Nezu says nothing in reply, leaving LaLinde some time to calm herself down before she hits a boiling point.

“All I’m asking is that you take more of a precaution in safety next time. I know hero work is a dangerous business, but while they’re training to be heroes, they’re still children. I don’t want another mother to come home to find U.A staff with a casket one day.”

The principal nods. “That would be the best course of action, yes…”

LaLinde smiles ever so slightly. “Thank you, Principal Nezu. Is that all?”

“Yes, you’re free to go. Blues, Roll, you’re excused for the day as well, if you’d like to go home.”

A free pass home? That’s certainly new. Still, he can’t afford to take it up. “I’ve got something to do in class, can’t miss it.”

“I think I’ll stay here for now,” Roll says. “Thank you for the offer, though.”

“Are you sure?” Light asks, and Roll nods. “... Alright, but if you need us to come back, just give us a call.”

“Don’t worry, I will.”

 

_ Support Course - Roll Light _

 

Her twin brother’s been kidnapped… Why today of all days…?

Roll looks over the table. On it rests a sheet of paper, with about 10% of a concept written down.

“Hey, Roll!” A voice chimes in from behind. She doesn’t even need to turn around to know who it is.

“Oh, hey, Mei.”

Mei Hatsune takes her spot next to Roll. “So what’s this one gonna be?”

“Hm? Oh… I don’t know. I can’t think straight right now.”

“Something eatin’ at ya? Boy problems or something?’

“Heh. I guess you could say that. It’s my brother. He’s… he went missing last night.”

“Oh… Well, nothing gets me out of a bad mood than making something crazy. Have you tried that? Doesn’t have to be helpful, just fun.”

“Yeah, I’m trying to think of something, that’s what this is supposed to be.”

“Well, let’s see what you’ve got down!”

Mei snatches up the paper, taking a look at what little Roll had on it. “... I think I can see where this is going. Some sort of hoverboard, right?”

“Yeah, that was the idea. I was going to--”

The bell rings, cutting her off before she was able to finish her sentence.

“Tell you what.” Mei folds the paper up and puts it in her pocket. “Let’s talk about it during lunch. I’ve got an idea for how you could do this!”

“Alright, let’s get going.”

 

_ U.A Cafeteria - Blues Light _

 

He should’ve taken that offer.

The boy almost melted his tray from how angry he was. The relief of his brother being alive has faded, replaced with a seething anger at himself for not getting him out of that. He should’ve been there!

His friends call him over to their table, but he turns them down. “Not today, guys.”

Instead, he takes a seat under the stairs, and starts eating.

“Hey, this is my spot.”

Blues looks up to see a kid with quite the interesting hairdo with a tray.

“There’s more space under here, you know.”

The kid just sighs, taking his seat next to Blues. He looks down to the tray, seeing its damage. “Damn, who set you off?”

_ “Keep it together, Blues. He’s just asking a question.” _

__ He doesn’t notice that he’s melting the tray even more.

“Some criminals, they came and… they kidnapped my brother.”

“Huh, you too?”

Well, he wasn’t expecting that. “Really?”

“Well, not my brother, my old man. It really sucks, but I can’t do anything about it.”

“I guess that’s true.” Blues offers a hand. “Blues.”

The other boy hesitantly accepts the handshake. “Forte Wily.”

“Wait, Wily? You mean dad’s old partner?”

“... Your last name wouldn’t happen to be Light, would it?”

“That it is.”

Forte can’t help but snicker at that. “Imagine that. Thought we saw the last of you when we left Arizona for the job here.”

“To build the entrance exam robots?”

“Yeah, that one.”

“That actually went to dad.”

“...” The snicker morphs into a full laugh. “Talk about trash luck.”

Blues can’t help but laugh, either. “I guess you could call it that. What  _ is  _ your dad doing now, anyway?”

“Well, he  _ was  _ partnered up with Dr Cossack, but we haven’t heard anything from our friend in Russia for a while.”

“Yeah, dad was saying the same thing, actually. First Cossack, then Albert, now Rock? Maybe they’re connected?”

“Like one group could get work done in Russia and then seamlessly operate in Japan?”

“Well, maybe not the same people, but maybe they’re part of the same organization?”

“... That could be true, actually. Or at the very least, they’re working together…”

 

_ Light/Hikari Residence - Thomas Light _

Light was having trouble breathing. LaLinde had helped him calm down a  _ bit,  _ but not nearly enough to ease his nerves. His son was kidnapped by villains, how  _ could  _ he be calm about this?

He looks to his cell. Maybe Rock still had his?

He picks up the phone, and dialed the number.

_ Riiiiiiing _

__ _ Riiiiiiing _

__ _ Riiiiiiing _

__ _ Riiiii--  _

__ _ “Hello?” _

Thomas gasps ever so slightly. “Albert?”

 

_ Nebula Hideout - Albert Wily _

“Thomas?”

_ “Albert, why do you have my son’s phone?!” _

__ Albert looks around the lab. No cameras, no one’s around, good. He locks the door to the lab.

“Thomas, do your son a favor. Don’t call this number again.”

_ “What in the  _ **_world_ ** _ are you talking about!? Where is my son!?” _

“I’m sorry, Thomas…”

_ *click* _

Wily hangs his head. “Regal… Why did you have to do this?”

 

_ Light/Hikari Residence - Thomas Light _

 

“Albert?! ALBERT!”

But there was no answer. The dial tone droned on, and Thomas simply hung up the phone.

“Albert, this isn’t like you…”

 

_ U.A High School - Eugene Chaud _

 

Chaud was here for several reasons.

Reason Number One: A meeting with U.A Staff about the Gutsman robot.

Reason Number Two: A face-to-face interview with this Blues kid. He needs to see just what the kid’s capable of.

Reason Number Three:

… he forgot his wallet here when he and Naomasa gave the report last night.

With the third reason taken care of, he can proceed to the first reason. The second reason can wait until the meeting is done. For now, he’s got some teachers to meet.

 

The Teacher’s Lounge was as good a meeting place as any, and all U.A Staff was gathered here (Well, except for Lunch Rush, but he doesn’t count for something like this).

“Good afternoon, all of you.” 

“Chaud, good to see you.” Cementoss waves. “How goes the investigation?”

“Not well, I’ll  be honest. We don’t know the first thing about who’s in Nebula, what their goals are, or where they’re based. No one in the prison other than the 71 arrested yesterday had even  _ heard  _ of Nebula, and the ones we  _ did  _ get wouldn’t talk. My best guess is that we need to reactivate the Gutsman robot to even get a hint at what we’re up against. If you could get Dr. Light to work on that, we’d be much closer to what we need.”

“I’ll get on that.” Power Loader nods.

“Thank you.”

And with that, Chaud leaves the room, scanning the cafeteria for Blues.

He finds the kid under the staircase, eating in silence with one other student. 

_ “Well, there’s no better time than the present.” _

“Blues?”

The kid looks upward, adjusting his sunglasses. “Yeah? What’s up?”

“Detective Chaud.” He extends a hand, taking a seat in front of the two. The other kid scoffs a bit. “Just a party under here today, isn’t it?”

“This is about my internship, isn’t it?”

“You’d be correct, yes. What class do you have after this one?”

“... English II, why?”

“Perfect. I need you to come with me after the lunch hour is over, alright?”

“I was actually getting checked out early today.”

“Hm… Do you think Dr Light would let you push that back a bit? I need to see how accurate you are with your Quirk.”

“... Sure, I can manage that.”

“Perfect. Now… is there a target range here?”

Blues tilts his head down in thought. “... I don’t know, but there  _ is  _ one at Light Labs.”

“That could work. I guess you’re not pushing it back, after all.”

“Yeah, just give me a bit, I’ll let him know you’re coming.”

“Let him know I can give you a ride.”

Blues nods, takes out his phone, and heads to the restroom.

The other student, meanwhile, seems a bit surprised about this. “He’s taking an internship with the police? Thought he’d go with Manual at least.”   
“He does seem to be full of surprises, yeah.” Chaud smirks. “First year, right?”

The kid reels his head back in surprise. “How’d you figure that out?”

“Your hair. You’ve got it purposefully styled that way. By the time most kids hit year three, they stop caring as much about their appearance. The courses take too much energy to make it worth styling.”

“Huh. Didn’t think of that.”

Blues returns from the restroom. “Alright, we’re cleared.”

“Alright, I’ll be at the entrance.”

And with that, Chaud takes his leave.

  
  


_ Light/Hikari Residence - Eugene Chaud _

 

Well, this place was surprisingly tidy for a laboratory.

“Give me a bit, the target range is in the basement.”

Chaud nods silently, following Blues to the stairway, before getting stopped by a man in a white coat. Dr. Light.

“Ah, good afternoon, Doctor. Thanks for letting me come here, this is vital for your son’s internship.”

“Yes, of course. Though… we need to talk.”

“About what?”

“About--” He stops himself, before whispering. “About Rock.”

“Ah, I see…” He looks to Blues. “Give us a second.”

Blues looks a bit confused, but nods, and Light leads Chaud to the couch. “I think I know someone who’s working with the people who took my son.”

“You do? That’s certainly a new development. Who is it?”

“... Dr. Albert Wily.”

Chaud hears a gasp from the doorway, looking to the side. “Something you’d like to tell us, Blues?”

“It can’t be Wily.”

“Why is that?”

“I was talking with his son, and apparently, Wily went missing a few days ago. Someone tried to kidnap him the next day, but Vlad King saved him at the last minute.”

“... That may be the case, but I had called Rock’s cell phone and Albert was the one who picked up.  He sounded… conflicted. As if he wished he wasn’t saying what he was.”

“And he was saying?”

“... For your son’s good, don’t call this number anymore.”

“Hm… I see.”

Well, that’s a blow to his theory. If Baryl was mind controlled, why wasn’t Wily?

“Still, that’s good to know. Now we know both events are related incidents. What’s more, We can question the attempted kidnapper on Nebula.”

“I didn’t know Albert  _ had  _ a son… Is he alright?”

“Yeah, he’s doing alright.” Blues nods. “Staying with a host family while they look for his dad.”

“That’s good to hear, at least. … Thank you, Detective. That’s all I had to tell you.”

“No problem, it’s all in a day’s work. Now, Blues. Let’s see your aim.”

“Got it. Let’s go.”

 

_ The Road Home - Izuku Midoriya - That Night _

 

__ Dang, the Sports Festival sounds like it’s gonna be stressful. Combining being watched by everyone with the fact that he hasn’t mastered his Quirk yet, this is a recipe for disaster.

“Boy.”

A voice behind him. He freezes in his tracks. He knows that voice. At least, he thinks he does.

“Turn around.”

He turns around, slowly, making sure he doesn’t anger this man. He can’t make out his face. It’s too dark, and he’s wearing a hood.

He drops an arm. A sword blade comes out.

“Battle me. Right here. Right now.”

“Wh-what?! Why would I do that!?”

“You were at the USJ attack, right? One of the kids carrying the teacher.”

“How did you know that?”

The man drops the hood, and Izuku immediately recognizes his face. “Colonel…”

“Show me your strength. Prove to me you’ve got what it takes to even  _ be  _ in that class.”

Izuku steps back in shock. Two days ago, Colonel was trying to kill him. Now, he wants to know if Izuku’s hero material?

“... Should’ve guessed you wouldn’t fight in an inhabited area.” He retracts the blade. “Makes sense, honestly.”

Why is he so nonchalant now?

“I want you to meet me at the police station tomorrow night. We need you for something.”

“We? Who’s we? Nebula?”

Colonel rolls his eyes ever so slightly. “Of course, I’m asking you to join a criminal syndicate at the Police Station. Of course not Nebula. You’ll find out when you show up, alright?”

Izuku hesitates. This doesn’t sound good, even if it isn’t Nebula. “Can you at least give me a name?”

“... Team Proto-Colonel.”

“...” Proto-Colonel? That’s certainly new.

“I’ll see you there tomorrow. Or I won’t. Depends on what you’re gonna do.”

He walks right by Izuku. “Oh, and sorry for trying to kill you the other day, I wasn’t myself then.”

And with that, he leaves, leaving Izuku in the dust.

  
  


_ Nebula Base - Quint _

 

Quint was bored.

They haven’t been able to strike anywhere. He had asked Kurogiri what their next move was, but he said nothing. So he decided to explore around the base.

Apparently, that got Kurogiri annoyed, and so he was sent to Wily’s lab.

“Quint, good to see you.” Wily comments. “Pass me that wrench, will you?”

Quint nods, and tosses the wrench over. Surprisingly, Wily catches it quickly.

“What’s this one gonna be?” Quint decides to ask.

“I’m calling it Sakugarne. It’s more or less a drill, but as we don’t have anyone with increased strength, I thought it’d be useful.”

Quint takes a look over the desk. There definitely was something about it. “Mind if I try it out?"

“Not in my lab, you’re not. There’s a clear field not too far from here. That should be a good place to try it out. Ever use a Pogo stick?”

“No.”   
“Then this should be fun to see. Let’s get going.”


	8. Side Chapter - Characters and Technology

This isn’t an actual chapter, so if you want to wait until the ACTUAL chapter, feel free to do so. I, The Author, just thought it would be a good idea to give a Who’s Who and What’s What for all the original characters I’ve introduced. So without further ado, let’s do this.

 

                                                                                                                     **SCIENTIST FAMILIES**

  
  


**Rock Light:** Son of Thomas Light and an unnamed mother.

    **Quirk:** Mega Buster. Can fire shots with solar energy. While weak when fired individually, charging the shot allows for a larger radius and increased power.

    **Quirk:** All For One (Powered Down): Can steal Quirks from other people, and give Quirks. Can only hold up to 8 Quirks other than his own due to only having a portion of All For One’s power.

    **Villain Name:** Quint.

    **Hero Name:** Mega Man

 

 **Blues Light:** Son of Thomas Light and an unnamed mother.

    **Quirk:** Proto Strike. Can fire shots with solar energy. Can’t be charged as of yet, but each individual shot has the same power as Rock’s charged shot.

    **Quirk:** Shield. If he guards by forming an X with his arms, he can deflect any incoming projectile.

    **Hero Name:** Proto Man.

 

 **Roll Light:** Daughter of Thomas Light and an unnamed mother.

**Quirk:** Technopathy. Can control pieces of technology. 

 

 **Dr. Thomas Light:** Son of Theodore and Delilah Light, husband of Noele LaLinde, father of Blues, Roll, and Rock.

    **Quirk:** Technopathy. Can control pieces of technology.

 

 **Dr. Noele LaLinde:** Daughter of Noah and Elizabeth LaLinde, wife of Thomas Light. Mother of [SPOILER].

    **Quirk:** Quirkless.

 

 **Dr. Albert Wily:** Son of Aaron and Sophia Wily, Father of Forte Wily.

    **Quirk:** Macabre. Effect Unknown

   

 **Forte Wily:** Son of Albert Wily and an unnamed mother,

    **Quirk:** Bass Cannon. Similar to the LIght family’s Buster quirk, but rapid fire and can’t be charged.

    **Hero Name:** Bass

 

 **Parker Astil:** Son of Pedro and Senzai Asti

 **Quirk:** Botanokinesis: Can control plant matter.

 

 **Dr. Mikhail Cossack:** Son of Vladimir and Lisa Cossack. Father of Kalinka Cossack.

 **Quirk:** Unknown

 

 **Kalinka Cossack:** Daughter of Mikhail Cossack and an unnamed mother.

 **Quirk:** Unknown.

 

 **Lan Hikari:** Son of Yuchihiro and Haruka Hikari.

 **Quirk:** Unknown.

 

 **Hub Hikari:** Son of Yuchihiro and Haruka Hikari.

 **Quirk:** Unknown

 

 **Dr Yuchihiro Hikari:** Father of Lan and Hub Hikari. Husband to Haruka Hikari.

 **Quirk:** Unknown

 

 **Haruka Hikari:** Mother of Lan and Hub Hikari. Wife to Yuchihiro Hikari.

 

                                                                                                                             **NEBULA**

 

 **Dr. Regal:** Son of [SPOILERS] and an unnamed mother.

 **Quirk:** Nebula Grey. A sort of mind control, but can be broken by a sufficient hit to the head.

 

 **Monking:** Kidnapper

 **Quirk:** Strength Enhancement.

 

 **Pickelman:** Burglar

 **Quirk:** Quirkless (Post Chapter 1)

   

 **Trio:** Former police officer, convicted murderer.

    **Quirk:** Unknown

 

                                                                                                                            **OTHER**

 

 **Eugene Chaud:** Detective, Founder of Team Protoman

    **Quirk:** Unknown

    **Hero Name:** Break Man

 

 **Baryl Mach:** Nurse, Founder of Team Colonel

    **Quirk:** Colonel Blade. Tensing his right arm allows him to summon a blade from his wrist. Rapid sheathing and extending can cause muscle damage.

    **Hero Name:** Colonel

   

 **Marylin:** A Nurse at the Kamino Ward Hospital.

    **Quirk:** Unknown

  
  
  


                                                                                                                   **TECHNOLOGY**

 

 **Ceratanium:** An incredibly durable alloy created by Dr Light 2 years before taking the job at U.A.

 

 **Sakugarne:** A machine built by Albert Wily for use by Quint. A jackhammer/pogo stick hybrid, it looks kind of silly, but it gets work done.

 

 **Mettall:** A construction droid created by Dr Light. Adopted by almost every construction business out there.  

 

 **DWN 001: Gutsman:** A robot built from the plans of Dr Light's Gutsman robot. Has limited individual thought.


End file.
